BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – A late first half run brought the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team within four, but Bowling Green caught fire in the second half on its way to an 87-65 victory over the Huskies on Saturday evening (Feb. 5) at the Stroh Center. The Falcons made 11 three-pointers in the contest, including seven in the second half, and scored 52 points after the intermission. 

Keshawn Williams (Chicago Heights, Ill./Tulsa) led NIU with 20 points, including 12-of-13 from the free-throw line, and grabbed a career-best seven rebounds, Trendon Hankerson (Novi, Mich./Novi) added 15 points on five triples. 

"It was one of those games where, Bowling Green is really good offensively, and we didn't do a good job of controlling them by taking quality shots, and when we did get open looks a lot of the time, we weren't able to make them," said NIU head coach Rashon Burno. "We just didn't make shots and because we weren't getting the results we wanted (offensively), it really hurt us on the defensive end."

With the contest even at four in the early going, Bowling Green used an 8-0 run to take a 12-4 lead five minutes into the game. Adong Makuoi (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada/Daytona State College) ended the run with his third basket to bring the Huskies back within a half-dozen. Makuoi finished with eight points. 

A four-point play by Bowling Green gave the hosts a 16-6 advantage and the Falcons would go in front by as much as 15. 

NIU used a 5-0 burst to get back within nine, 31-22, with a layup from Williams and a triple from Hankerson with just over three minutes to play in the opening half. 

The triple from Hankerson ignited the Novi, Mich., native from beyond the arc as he made four-straight trifectas to close the half, helping the Huskies cut the Bowling Green lead to 35-31 at the break. 

Hankerson had a dozen in the first half to lead the way for NIU, Daeqwon Plowden scored 13 points to pace the Falcons in the opening 20 minutes. 

Bowling Green used an 8-0 run early in the second half to take a 46-34 lead less than four minutes into the second half. The Falcons knocked down three triples early in the second 20 minutes. 

The hosts continued to stay hot from beyond the arc early in the second half, making six of its first eight from beyond the arc as the Falcons saw their lead grow to 62-46 just before the midway point of the second half. Bowling Green finished the second half shooting 54.8 percent (17-of-31) from the field, including 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from beyond the arc. 

Trey Diggs led Bowling Green in scoring with 18 points on six triples, Joe Reece added 17 points and Plowden finished with 13.

The Huskies will return home for a pair of games next week, beginning on Tuesday night, Feb. 8, when NIU hosts Akron at 7 p.m. Toledo will also visit DeKalb next week as the Huskies entertain the Rockets on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 12, at 3:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader. 

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).