SPOKANE, Wash. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team was within a half-dozen at the intermission, but Gonzaga shot 50 percent (19-of-38) from the field in the second half, including 45.5 percent (5-of-11) from three, to claim an 88-67 victory over the Huskies on Monday night (Dec. 12) at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
Keshawn Williams (Chicago Heights, Ill./Tulsa) scored a team-high 25 points with eight rebounds,
Anthony Crump (Inkster, Mich./Middle Tennessee) added a career-high 20 and eight rebounds while All-American Drew Timme paced the Bulldogs with 26 points.
"In the first half, we were able to use our quickness, guys made some timely shots, and we defended the ball well," said NIU head coach
Rashon Burno. "In the second half, they are a bigger team, at home, they had a couple 8-0 runs that we weren't able to come back from. The first four minutes, we didn't get off to a good start in the second half, the lead went from six to 12. Gonzaga had the momentum; the crowd and they are a really good team."
A pair of free throws from Williams tied the game at six in the early going before five-straight points from Gonzaga gave the Bulldogs an 11-6 advantage with just over 12 minutes to play in the opening half. The 5-0 run grew to 10-0 as Gonzaga pushed its lead to 16-6 before a bucket from Crump ended the run.
A triple from Williams brought NIU within eight, 26-18, with 5:14 left in the half but Timme answered right back for the Bulldogs.
After the Gonzaga lead grew to a dozen, 34-22, back-to-back triples from
David Coit (Columbus, N.J./Atlantic Cape CC) and Williams cut the deficit in half with 1:54 left before the intermission. Gonzaga answered with a basket before Williams finished an alley-oop from Coit to finish the half as the Bulldogs took a 36-30 lead into the intermission.
Timme led all scorers with 16 points in the opening 20 minutes, Williams paced the Huskies with a dozen. Gonzaga shot 42.9 percent (12-of-28) from the field in the first half while NIU shot 40.6 percent (13-of-32).
With the Bulldogs in front by seven early the second half, Gonzaga used a 5-0 burst to push its advantage to a dozen, 46-34, and force a Huskie timeout with 17:39 to play.
The Gonzaga lead ballooned to 14 until a corner triple from Williams and an old-fashioned three-point play from Crump trimmed the Bulldogs lead to 50-42 with 15:44 left. Gonzaga went back up a dozen, 58-46 before Crump converted another three-point play to bring the Huskies back within nine with just under 12 minutes remaining.
A 13-1 burst gave the Bulldogs a 71-50 advantage with a little under nine minutes left to play, putting the game out of reach.
Three players scored in double figures from off the bench for Gonzaga, led by Ben Gregg's 18 points. Malachi Smith added 14 and Hunter Sallis chipped in 10 points for the Bulldogs, who won their 71st consecutive home game, the longest home win streak in the nation over the last 35-plus years.
NIU will conclude its current eight-game road trip on Saturday, Dec. 17, when the Huskies visit VCU. Game time against the Rams is slated for 3 p.m. CT. NIU will return home on Tuesday, Dec. 20, as the Huskies host UAlbany at 1 p.m. Tickets are available now on NIUHuskies.com/tickets.
