FORT MYERS, Fla. – Keshawn Williams (Chicago Heights, Ill./Tulsa) scored a game-high 28 points as the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team shot 54.1 percent (33-of-61) from the field, and 47.8 percent (11-of-23) from three, in an 86-61 victory over Long Island on Wednesday afternoon (Nov. 23) in the third-place game at the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off.

David Coit (Columbus, N.J./Atlantic Cape CC) scored 17 points and Zarique Nutter (Newark, N.J./Clarendon College) added 10 points. Oluwasegun Durosinmi (Lagos, Nigeria/St. Bonaventure) grabbed a game-high, and career-best, 11 rebounds, to go along with a career-high seven points, while Kaleb Thornton (Bolingbrook, Ill./Iowa Western CC) also had seven points, along with a career-best 11 assists. 

The 11 assists for Thornton marked the first time a Huskie had 10-or-more assists in a game since Laytwan Porter recorded 10 against Eureka on Nov. 21, 2015. 

"This is a good start to give our guys confidence that what we are working on can work and what we are doing does work," said NIU head coach Rashon Burno. "We went in the locker room after the game yesterday and had guys that had lost confidence in themselves. This was a game that was won on mental preparation. It had nothing to do with basketball, it had nothing to do with physicality, it was all about how we got ourselves back centered and got a belief back in what we are doing."

Already in front by a pair, NIU used a 6-0 burst to take a 10-2 lead with 14:26 to play in the opening half. Nutter made a pair of buckets and Williams added a layup during the run. 

The Huskie advantage reached double figures when Xavier Amos (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) scored five-straight points to put NIU ahead 20-8 with just under 11 minutes to play before the intermission. 

A 9-0 run helped the NIU lead grow to 34-15 with 6:26 left before the half. Williams opened the run with a basket, Coit and Thornton each added a pair and Coit finished the run with a triple as the Huskies went in front by 19. 

Long Island scored 10 of the next 12, trimming the NIU lead back to 36-25 with just over four minutes left in the half. 

Back-to-back trifectas from Thornton and Coit helped the lead grow back to 17 and ignited a 14-2 Huskie run to close the half. Coit added two more triples during the run and Williams finished at the rim as NIU took a 50-27 lead into the intermission. 

Williams led all scorers with 16 points in the opening 20 minutes, Coit added 14 while Thornton had five points and six assists in the first half. 

NIU shot 58.8 percent (20-of-34) in the first half, including 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from three-point range, while holding Long Island to just 33.3 percent (8-of-14) shooting, and just 1-of-7 (14.3 percent) from three. 

The Huskies opened the second half by scoring six of the first eight, forcing an early Sharks timeout.

After Long Island scored the next three, NIU answered with five as Nutter finished as the rim and Coit hit another triple, giving NIU a 61-32 lead. 

Coit when 5-of-8 from three-point range while Williams was 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. 

NIU continued to control the contest and built a lead as large as 32, 84-52, before Long Island closed the game on a 9-2 run to cut the final deficit to 25. 

R.J. Greene led Long Island with 14 points, Quion Burns and Marko Maletic each added 12 while Jacob Johnson chipped in 11 points. 

NIU forced 17 Sharks turnovers in the contest, converting them into 24 points; Long Island scored just 11 points off Huskie turnovers. 

Up next for the Huskies will be a trip to Northern Iowa on Saturday, Nov. 26. Game time against the Panthers is slated for 1 p.m. and the contest will be available on ESPN+.