DEKALB, Ill. – Missing four players due to various injuries and illnesses, the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team fell, 83-77, to Illinois Springfield in the season opener on Monday night (Nov. 7) at the NIU Convocation Center. 

David Coit (Columbus, N.J./Atlantic Cape CC) led all scorers with 31 points, Keshawn Williams (Chicago Heights, Ill./Tulsa) added 23 points, including 8-of-10 from the free-throw line. 

UIS shot 60 percent (15-of-25) from the field in the second half, including 50 percent (7-of-14) from three-point range, outscoring the Huskies, 46-39, after halftime. 

"Disappointing performance from start-to-finish," said NIU head coach Rashon Burno. "We didn't do a good job of having these guys ready to play and they came in with nothing to lose and they shot extremely well. Anytime you want to spring an upset, you have to do a tremendous job making threes, and they made 11-of-27 for 40 percent. They did a good job on the backboard (outrebounding NIU 43-30). We have a lot to correct, but we didn't give ourselves an opportunity to win this game from the start."

UIS led by a pair in the early going, 14-12, before the Prairie Stars used a 7-2 burst to take a 21-14 advantage with 12:40 to play in the opening half. NIU pulled back within four, 24-20, until a 6-0 burst gave UIS a 30-20 lead with a little over seven minutes to play in the first half. 

NIU answered with an 11-0 run. Zion Russell (Upper Marlboro, Md./National Christian Academy) opened the burst with a basket and Williams added seven of the next nine as the Huskies went back in front, 31-30, with 4:47 to play in the opening half. 

The Huskies took a 38-37 lead into the break, Williams had 14 points in the opening 20 minutes and Coit had 11. Jack Weber led the Prairie Stars with eight first half points. 

After NIU extended its lead to four on a triple by Darweshi Hunter (Cincinnati, Ohio/Weber State) to open the second half, Illinois Springfield used a 10-0 run to go in front, 50-41, just less than four minutes into the second stanza. 

The Prairie Stars extended their lead to 15 before a 13-3 burst by the Huskies cut the advantage back to five, 68-63, with 6:25 left to play. Coit scored the first five points of the run and, following a UIS, triple Coit added an old-fashioned three-point play. A pair free throws from Williams followed before Coit knocked in another triple, to bring NIU within five. 

UIS answered with back-to-back threes of its own, both from Max Kunnert, as the visitor's lead grew back to 11 with just over five minutes remaining. 

Four consecutive missed free throws by UIS in the final minute helped the Huskies claw back within five, 82-77, but that was as close as NIU would get as time ran out on the Huskie comeback attempt. 

Kunnert finished with 17 points, going 5-of-8 from three-point range. Weber added 14 points, Michael Wright added 11 and Jordan Rice chipped in 10 points for the Prairie Stars. 

NIU will return to action on Friday night, Nov. 11, when it travels to Northwestern. Game time against the Wildcats is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be available on BTN+.