DEKALB, Ill. – Ball State shot 50 percent from the field in the second half as the Cardinals bettered the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team, 74-67, on Thursday night (Jan. 27) at the NIU Convocation Center. Five Huskies scored in double figures, but the Cardinals outscored the Huskies 17-10 in the final six minutes to come away with the road win. 

Keshawn Williams (Chicago Heights, Ill./Tulsa) scored a team-high 16 points to lead NIU, Trendon Hankerson (Novi, Mich./Novi) and Zool Kueth (Gallatin, Tenn./Pratt CC) each added 12 while Anthony Crump (Inkster, Mich./Middle Tennessee) and Adong Makuoi (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada/Daytona State College) both chipped in 10 points.  

"It is a disappointing loss," said NIU head coach Rashon Burno. "I thought the guys competed hard. We didn't execute down the stretch, we didn't execute to start the game, going down 12-2. We chased the entire game; we never got the lead until the second half. Take our hats off to Ball State, they came in and executed, we have to do a better job starting."

Tied at 57, Ball State converted a layup in move in front with 5:36 left. Crump answered with a triple off a free from Kaleb Thornton (Bolingbrook, Ill./Iowa Western CC) as NIU led 60-59, but the Cardinals scored the next five to take a 64-60 lead with four minutes remaining. 

NIU (5-12, 2-5 MAC) climbed back within three when Crump made a pair of free throws, but Ball State scored the next four, pushing their advantage to 70-63 with just over 90 seconds remaining. The Huskies would twice cut the Cardinal lead back to five, but that was as close as they would get as the visitors picked up the road victory. 

Tyler Cochran scored a game-high 17 points to lead the way for Ball State. Miryne Thomas added 13, Payton Sparks chipped in 11 points and Luke Brown scored 10 for the Cardinals. 

Ball State raced to a 12-2 lead in the opening four minutes of the contest. Kueth made a triple, his first of two on the night, and Zion Russell (Upper Marlboro, Md./National Christian Academy) added a basket as the Huskies trimmed the visitors advantage back to five. 

Just before the midway point of the opening half, the Cardinals pushed their lead to as much as 11, 21-10. NIU scored the next six, with five coming from Hankerson, as the Huskies were back within five. 

Ball State took a 33-27 lead into the intermission, Kueth had 10 to lead NIU at the break while Brown paced the Cardinals with 10 first half points. 

A 10-3 Huskie run to start the second half gave NIU a 37-36 lead just three minutes into the second half. Hankerson capped the run with a triple from the wing off a kickout by Makuoi to give NIU its first lead of the game. 

Makuoi finished with nine rebounds, Crump added eight boards for the Huskies. 

With NIU still in front by one, Ball State used a 7-0 spurt to take a 44-38 lead with just over 13 minutes left in the contest. Williams answered with an 8-0 run of his own to push NIU back in front by a pair, 46-44. 

The two teams traded the lead again and Ball State went in front by as much as four until back-to-back buckets from Makuoi and Crump tied the game at 57 with six-and-a-half minutes to play. 

NIU will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 29, when the Huskies host Central Michigan at 3 p.m. Saturday is Military Appreciation Day as all active service members with an ID can receive a free ticket to the contest. 

Tickets for all Huskie home games are still on sale, including Huskie Flex Plans. Purchase vouchers for $6 each and use them throughout the season to attend Huskie men's and women's basketball home games. Simply redeem vouchers for tickets at the box office prior to the game. Tickets can be purchased online at NIUHuskies.com/MyHuskies or by calling the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225).