DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team will finish a stretch of three games in five days on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 29, as the Huskies entertain Central Michigan in the NIU Convocation Center. Tipoff against the Chippewas is scheduled for 3 p.m. and will be available on ESPN3.
Saturday is Military Appreciation Day with all active service members eligible to receive free admission by presenting their ID at the NIU Convocation Center Box Office on game day.
NIU suffered a 74-67 setback on Thursday night (Jan. 27) against Ball State despite five Huskie scoring in double figures, led by 16 points from
Keshawn Williams (Chicago Heights, Ill./Tulsa).
Trendon Hankerson (Novi, Mich./Novi) and
Zool Kueth (Gallatin, Tenn./Pratt CC) each added 12 points while
Anthony Crump (Inkster, Mich./Middle Tennessee) and
Adong Makuoi (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada/Daytona State College) both scored 10 points. Makuoi also recorded a career-best nine rebounds, eight of which came on the offensive end.
Hankerson recorded three steals on Thursday against the Cardinals and continues to lead the MAC with 2.1 steals per contest, which also ranks 34th nationally.
In conference play,
Kaleb Thornton (Bolingbrook, Ill./Iowa Western CC) is tied for the MAC lead with 4.9 assists per game. Williams is shooting a league-best 59.1 percent from three-point range in conference play and ranks seventh in the league in scoring, averaging 18.2 points per game during league play.
Central Michigan brings a 2-13 overall record to DeKalb, including a 1-3 conference mark. The Chippewas dropped a narrow, 60-56, decision to Akron at home on Tuesday (Jan. 25). The Chippewas have two players scoring in double figures as Jermaine Jackson Jr. leads CMU in scoring at 11.4 points per game and Oscar Lopez Jr. adds 10.0 points per game. Central Michigan also has three players, Ralph Bissainthe, Harrison Henderson and Kevin Miller, averaging 9.5 points per game.
Each of the last four contests between NIU and Central Michigan have been decided by five points or less, including a pair of one-point games.
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).
