DEKALB, Ill. – Despite having just two players available taller than 6-foot-5, both of whom fouled out with over seven minutes to play, the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team topped Ball State, 76-66, on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 25) at the NIU Convocation Center. 

Nasir Muhammad (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) led the way with 19 points, including 5-of-6 from three, James Dent Jr. (Springfield, Ill./Springfield Southeast) and Quaran McPherson (South Jamaica Queens, N.Y./Link Year Prep) each had double-doubles with identical 18-point, 10-rebound outings while Quentin Jones (Chicago, Ill./Marian Catholic) also scored in double figures with 11 points and a game-high six assists. 

The pair of double-doubles from Dent and McPherson marks the first time two Huskies have recorded double-doubles in the same game against a Division I opponent since Anthony Crump (11 points, 14 rebounds) and Kaleb Thornton (10 points, 11 assists) against Western Michigan on Feb. 11, 2023. 

NIU (5-14, 1-6 MAC) outrebounded Ball State, 41-36, and held the Cardinals to 38.6 percent (22-of-57) shooting from the field, and 36 percent (9-of-25) from three. 

"Tonight was an unbelievable environment," said NIU head coach Rashon Burno. "The fans did an unbelievable job of giving us energy. The kids really fed off that. We came out and got off to a good start. We had some difficult news with Ethan Butler not feeling well, but these guys had to make a decision. We could feel sorry for ourselves, or we could go out and fight. That has been the message all year, whoever suits up has the ability to go out and win a game, we just have to do it together. I thought we had the right mindset, we led for 37:20, and you can't get that done if you don't do it as a team."

With the contest tied at eight in the early going, NIU used a 9-0 burst to move in front, 17-8. Triples from Jones and McPherson, followed by an old-fashioned three-point play from McPherson, gave NIU a 17-8 lead with 12:16 left in the opening half. 

Another trifecta from McPherson helped the Huskies lead grow to nine again, 20-11, but five-straight points by the Cardinals trimmed the NIU advantage back to just four with 7:44 to play before the intermission. 

Leading by eight, Dent converted a four-point play, followed by another triple, as the Huskie lead ballooned to 36-21 with 3:49 remaining in the half. 

Ball State (9-10, 3-4 MAC) trimmed the Huskie advantage down to 40-29 at the break. Dent led all scorers with 14 points in the first half, McPherson added 12 for the Huskies while Ball State was led by 13 points from Ethan Brittain-Watts. NIU held Ball State to just 33.3 percent (10-of-30) shooting in the opening stanza and outrebounded the Cardinals, 26-16, in the first 20 minutes. 

Trifectas from Tsvet Sotirov (Rolling Meadows, Ill./Rolling Meadows) and Muhammad to begin the second half pushed the NIU advantage to 46-29 and forced an early Ball State timeout. 

After a pair of three from Ball State brought the Cardinals back to within 11, Muhammad knocked in his second triple of the half, third of the game, as the Huskies led 49-35 with just over 16 minutes to play. 

Another three from Muhammad gave the Huskies a 56-40 lead with 11:56 left. McPherson then added a bucket to put the Huskies up 18, their largest lead of the contest. 

Ball State clawed back within a dozen with just over six minutes to play, but that is as close as the Cardinals would get until the final seconds as NIU claimed the home victory. 

Brittain-Watts finished with a team-high 16 points for Ball State, Jermahri Hill and Juanse Gorosito each scored 12, Payton Sparks added 11 points and Mickey Pearson Jr. netted 10. 

NIU will be home again on Tuesday night, Jan. 28, when the Huskies host Akron. Tickets for Tuesday's game, and all remaining Huskie basketball home contests, are available now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets or by calling the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at (815) 753-PACK (7225).