DEKALB, Ill. – Ohio shot 50.9 percent (28-of-55) from the field as the Bobcats upended the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team, 82-76, on Tuesday night (Feb. 7) at the NIU Convocation Center. Kaleb Thornton (Bolingbrook, Ill.) tied a career-high with 21 points while dishing out eight assists, David Coit (Columbus, N.J.) and Zarique Nutter (Newark, N.J.) each had 12 points while Darweshi Hunter (Phoenix, Ariz.) added 11. 

"It was a hard-fought game," said NIU head coach Rashon Burno. "Take our hats off to Ohio, they came in and executed their gameplan. They were physical early, they really put us in tough situations with regard to pick-and-roll coverage. We had assignments that we blew, a lot of that was on us and our focus, but they played really well, they shot the ball well in the first half."

An 8-0 Huskie burst gave the hosts a 21-15 lead with just under 12 minutes to play in the opening half. Harvin Ibarguen (Cali, Colombia) started the run with a dunk off a feed from Thornton, Hunter then knocked in a triple from the wing and Thornton scored the next three as the Huskies led by a half-dozen. 

Ohio responded with the next five as the Bobcats trimmed the NIU advantage to just one, 21-20. 

The Bobcats pulled even at 26 with 8:32 to play before the intermission and the lead swung back-and-forth for the next five-plus minutes. 

With NIU in front by one, Ohio used a 7-0 spurt to take a 41-35 lead with 2:27 left before the break. Two baskets from Nutter, sandwiched around an Ohio bucket, brought the Huskies within four but Ohio closed the half with a triple to take a 46-39 lead into the intermission. 

Hunter led all scorers with 11 first half points, DeVon Baker had nine to pace the Bobcats. Both teams shot better than 50 percent in an opening 20 minutes that featured eight ties and 13 lead changes. 

Ohio scored the first three to open the second stanza as the Bobcats increased their advantage to 49-39. 

A basket by Nutter and a pair of free throws from Coit brought the Huskies within a half-dozen, 52-46. After the two teams traded triples, Ohio used a 7-2 burst to push its lead to 62-51 with 11:28 left to play. 

Nutter finished just a game-high nine rebounds to go along with his 12 points. 

Thornton answered with back-to-back buckets and Oluwasegun Durosinmi (Lagos, Nigeria) converted a pair at the line as NIU pulled within five, 62-57, just past the midway point of the second half. 

The Bobcats led by nine after a triple with four minutes to play but the Huskies had one final run in them. A free throw from Thornton and a bucket by Anthony Crump (Inkster, Mich.) trimmed the Ohio lead to 75-69. Following a basket by the Bobcats, Coit converted an old-fashioned three-point play and Thornton finished at the rim to pull the Huskies within three, 77-74, with 1:18 left. 

NIU then forced a turnover and had a chance to tie or pull within one, but the Huskies came up empty and Ohio closed out the game from the free-throw line. 

Jaylin Hunter scored a team-high 19 points to lead the way for the Bobcats. Miles Brown added 16 points, Dwight Wilson scored 13 and Elmore James also chipped in 13 points. 

NIU will remain at home to host Western Michigan on Saturday, Feb. 11. Game time against the Broncos is slated for 3 p.m., tickets are available now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets or by calling the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at (815) 753-PACK (7225).