DEKALB, Ill. -- A complete team effort that included five double-figure scorers helped the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team end the third-longest win streak in the nation on Tuesday night (Jan. 24) as the Huskies downed Kent State, 86-76, at the NIU Convocation Center. 

David Coit (Columbus, N.J.) scored a career-high 32 points, including 11-of-11 from the free-throw line, Darweshi Hunter (Cincinnati, Ohio) added 14 points, Kaleb Thornton (Bolingbrook, Ill.) netted 13 points and 11 assists, Harvin Ibarguen (Cali, Colombia) chipped in 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds while Zarique Nutter (Newark, N.J.) scored 11 points. 

"Tonight, was a program victory," said NIU head coach Rashon Burno. "I'm proud of our guys, coming off a two good wins on the road, we got to what we have believe all season, going all the way back to Canada (in August), we knew we had a good team. We've been unfortunate with injuries, sickness, all the things that happen in a college season seemed to happen to us at a time when we needed the practices and to be together, so it took us some time.

"I'm excited for our guys, they needed it, we needed it as a program to continue moving this thing in the right direction. I thought my guys showed a lot of toughness, we understood that this was one of the top mid-major teams in college basketball."

Four-straight points from Kent State put the flashes in front by one, 70-69, with 3:37 to play before the Huskies scored five-straight on an alley-oop from Thornton to Ibarguen and a triple from Coit off a feed from Thornton. 

Thornton's 13 points and 11 assists marked NIU's first points-assists double-double since Jan. 13, 2010, when Mike DiNunno had 21 points and 10 assists against Western Michigan. 

After a basket by the Golden Flashes trimmed the NIU lead to a pair, Thornton drove to the basket, finished through contact and converted the free throw to put the Huskies in front, 77-72, with 1:52 left. 

Kent State scored to cut the lead to three, but Nutter answered for NIU, sparking a 5-0 burst with a free throw from Ibarguen and another layup from Thornton, giving the Huskies an 82-74 advantage with 42 seconds to play, putting the game out of reach. 

NIU shot 51.9 percent (28-of-54) from the field, including 46.4 percent (13-of-28) from three, as it picked up its third consecutive victory, and fourth in the last five games. The Huskies outscored the Golden Flashes off turnovers, 21-3, despite committing one more turnover than Kent State (13-12). 

Kent State shot 52.8 percent (28-of-53) in the contest, including 40 percent (8-of-20) from three. 

NIU led 9-4 after a triple from Thornton early on, but Kent State answered with the next seven as the Golden Flashes took an 11-9 lead with just over 14 minutes to play in the opening half. 

A layup off a steal from Coit evened the contest before Jalen Sullinger knocked down back-to-back triples for Kent State, giving the Golden Flashes a 17-11 advantage with 11:28to play before the intermission. Coit made a pair of free throws and Hunter knocked in a trifecta from the wing to help pull the Huskies back within three, 22-19, with just over eight minutes left in the half. 

The Huskies and Golden Flashes traded baskets for most of the final eight minutes of the half. A bucket from Ibarguen with 12 seconds left brought NIU within one, 38-37, but Kent State made a short jumper at the buzzer to take a three-point lead, 40-37, into the break. 

Kent State shot 65.4 percent (17-of-26) from the floor in the opening half; NIU shot 50 percent (14-of-28). 

NIU opened the second half with an 11-2 run. Ibarguen finished at the rim to open the half, Coit and Thorton each knocked in triples while Anthony Crump (Inkster, Mich.) made a free throw and Coit converted a pair from the line to help the Huskies take a 48-42 lead with 16:18 remaining. 

With NIU in front by three, Kent State made a pair of triples to move back in front, 58-55, with just under 12 minutes left to play. 

The lead swung back-and-forth for the next eight minutes with NIU taking a three-point lead on a basket by Nutter with 4:34 to go. Kent State answered with a triple to tie it and then added a free throw to take a 70-69 lead, setting up the game's final minutes. 

Sullinger came off the bench to score a team-high 17 points for Kent State. Sincere Carry added 16 points, Miryne Thomas scored 14, Malique Jacobs chipped in 11 and Chris Payton scored 10 points. 

NIU will be back home on Saturday, Jan. 28, in the second game of a Huskie basketball doubleheader. The NIU women's basketball team will host Bowling Green at 1 p.m., followed by the NIU men's basketball team against Ball State at 3 p.m. Tickets are available now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets or by calling the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at (815) 753-PACK (7225).