KALAMAZOO, Mich. – In a see-saw battle that featured six lead changes, the Northern Illinois University Huskies had the last lead and the 24-21 victory Wednesday night in Waldo Stadium thanks to a gutsy defensive effort and a late touchdown drive led by quarterback Justin Lynch.
 
"I'm so proud for the players, so proud of the coaches," said NIU head coach Thomas Hammock. "They stayed committed to the process; they gave the players a chance to win, and the players went out and executed. I think that shows what type of team we are, the character of the young men in our program and we're going to continue to move forward.
 
Trailing 21-17, freshman linebacker Nick Alvarado and sophomore defensive tackle Devonte O'Malley sacked Broncos quarterback Treyson Bourguet – one of six Huskie sacks on the day - forcing WMU to punt and giving Lynch and the Huskies the ball on their own 27-yard line with 3:13 to play.
 
On the first play, Lynch found a hole on the left side and broke free down the sideline for 52 yards to the Western Michigan 21-yard line. Two more Lynch runs put NIU on the five before a holding penalty pushed them back after an apparent touchdown. After freshman running back Jaiden Credle collected the last of his 136 rushing yards in the game on his 36th carry, Lynch scored from nine yards out to give NIU the 24-21 lead with 56 seconds to play.
 
From there, the Huskie defense did what it had done most of the night, harass Bourguet. After WMU advanced to the NIU 44, then were pushed back to their 46 by a holding penalty, O'Malley knocked down the first down pass and sophomore Ivan Davis sacked Bourguet for a seven-yard loss on second down. After an incomplete pass, cornerback Jashon Prophete sacked Bourguet for the sixth and final time, securing the Huskies' third win of the season, second in MAC play.
 
Seven players combined for the Huskies' season-high six sacks and NIU totaled four tackles for loss with defensive end Raishein Thomas accounting for four TFLs and a pass break up on the night. Western Michigan went just 3-of-14 on third downs and were 1-of-4 on fourth down.  
 
"Our defense was aggressive, they made plays," Hammock said. "That's the way we have to play. We played smart, we played field position, and we gave ourselves a chance in the fourth quarter. We talked about having the ability to get off the field on third downs and the guys executed at a high level."
 
Offensively, a pair of true freshmen made their first career starts in the Huskie backfield. Quarterback Nevan Cremascoli completed eight-of-17 passes for 133 yards in the game, while tailback Credle, pressed into action with three NIU running backs sidelined by injury, came into the game with just eight carries for 28 yards in four games this year. He scored his first career touchdown on a one-yard run on the Huskies' first drive of the second half to give NIU a 17-14 lead. He rushed for 27 yards on the 58-yard drive, with fullback Brock Lampe's 31-yard catch and run accounting for the rest.
 
WMU (3-7, 2-4 MAC) re-took the lead with 3:25 to play in the third quarter when Anthony Sambucci caught a 26-yard pass from Bourguet as the Broncos went back on top.

Western Michigan took a 14-10 halftime lead on Sean Tyler's three-yard run with 38 seconds left in the half. Tyler's run came one play after a pass interference penalty in the end zone on the Huskies and a reversal of a touchdown catch after review.  The touchdown finished a seven-play, 63-yard drive that was aided by a pair of pass interference penalties.
 
NIU had taken a 10-7 lead on a 16-yard pass from Cremascoli to Cole Tucker 3:34 before halftime. After the NIU defense forced a three and out, the Huskies started the drive at the WMU 40 and Tristen Tewes caught a 20-yard pass to set up the NIU touchdown.
 
Tewes finished the game with a team-leading four catches for 64 yards.
 
"Offensively, we did what we needed to do," Hammock said. "We were down to our fourth string running back; I thought he would play well and he did. Justin was ready to go. When he comes in, the defense has to defend the whole field. What a great weapon and he was ready when his number was called. I couldn't be more proud of him and how he handled the environment and the situation."
 
NIU took a 3-0 lead on its first drive as John Richardson's 53-yard field goal capped a seven-play, 40-yard drive. The Huskies scored on their opening drive of the game for the first time in six games, since taking a 7-0 lead over Ball State on October 1.  Richardson's field goal was the second-longest in NIU history, behind only Mathew Sims' 54-yard field goal on this same Waldo Stadium field in 2012.
 
The Huskies return home for the final two games of the season, beginning next Wednesday, November 16 at 6 p.m. (CT) versus Miami (Ohio). Tickets for the Miami game and the season finale versus Akron on November 26 are available online at NIUHuskies.com.
 
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