MT. PLEASANT, Mich. -- Junior Trendon Hankerson (Novi, Mich./Novi) scored a new career-high 27 points as the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team outlasted Central Michigan, 79-74, on Friday evening (March 5) at McGuirk Arena. 

Junior Darius Beane (Carbondale, Ill./Southern Illinois) added 16 points and senior Nathan Scott (Naperville, Ill./Olney Central College) netted a season-high 13. 

"I thought we were connected today, the energy was good, although we made some mistakes at the beginning and we missed some shots," said NIU interim head coach Lamar Chapman. "The sharing of the ball was a positive. We had worked on zone, but not a lot, and I planned on using it, but not as much (as I did). 

"Central (Michigan) started to figure things out (during its second half comeback) and to have those key possessions down the stretch and come out with a win was great, I thought we played well enough to win."

NIU led by six, 72-66, after a pair of free throws by Beane with 2:37 to play, but Central Michigan answered with the next six to tie the game with a minute to go. 

On the next possession, Hankerson drained a pullup jumper as the Huskies went back in front by a pair. Following a defensive stop, sophomore Tyler Cochran (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) muscled his way to the rim for an old-fashioned three-point play, giving NIU a 77-72 lead with 21 seconds remaining. 

Cochran finished with eight points and eight rebounds. 

After a basket by Central Michigan to get back within three, Beane put the game away with a pair of free throws. 

NIU went 15-of-16 (93.8 percent) from the charity stripe, including a perfect 5-of-5 from Hankerson and 4-of-4 by Beane.  

Central Michigan scored the first seven to open the contest but NIU answered with nine of the next 12 to draw within one. A pair of dunks from Scott cut the Central Michigan lead to 10-9 with 15:42 left in the opening half

After the Huskies pulled within one, the Chippewas used a 7-2 spurt to push their advantage to 17-11 with just over 11 minutes to play before halftime.

Hankerson ignited a 10-2 Huskie burst, scoring the first eight of the run for NIU. Beane capped the run with a bucket as the Huskies went in front, 21-19, with eight minutes left in the opening half.

After the Chippewas reclaimed a four-point advantage, 27-23, NIU used a 14-0 run to take a 10-point lead. Scott made the first bucket to start the burst, Beane added a basket and junior Zool Kueth (Gallatin, Tenn./Pratt CC) knocked in a triple to push the Huskies back in front. Another basket from Scott and a trifecta from Hankerson forced a Central Michigan timeout, but the run continued after the timeout as Beane scored to give NIU a 37-27 lead with two minutes left in the half. 

A Central Michigan triple ended the run and trimmed the Huskie lead to 37-30 at the intermission. Hankerson had 11 points and seven rebounds to pace NIU in the opening 20 minutes. Beane and Scott each added eight points. 

Sophomore Kaleb Thornton (Bolingbrook, Ill./Iowa Western CC) opened the second half with a triple, Hankerson added a trifecta and Scott connected from beyond the long line to give the Huskies a 46-30 lead and force an early second half timeout from Central Michigan. 

Thornton finished with eight points, including 2-of-3 from three-point range. 

The Chippewas clawed back within a pair with a 17-3 run, trimming the Huskies advantage to 54-52 with 10:47 left. 

NIU scored six of the next eight as the lead grew back to a half-dozen, 60-54. Junior Adong Makuoi (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada/Daytona State College) and Hankerson each had a pair of free throws and Beane made a bucket as the Huskies led by six. 

A pair of free throws from Scott helped the NIU advantage grow back to eight, but Central Michigan was back within a pair, 68-66, with four minutes left courtesy of a 10-4 Chippewa run. 

Cocrhan made a bucket and Beane made a pair at the line as NIU led 72-66, but Central Michigan scored the next six to pull even with a minute to play before the Huskies finished off the victory. 

Meikkel Murray scored a game-high 30 points to lead Central Michigan, PJ Mitchell added 14 and Caleb Huffman scored 11 points for the Chippewas.