DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team fell to Kent State, 68-50, on Tuesday night (Jan. 7) at the NIU Convocation Center. The Golden Flashes held the Huskies to just 30.5 percent (18-of-59) shooting from the field. 

James Dent Jr. (Springfield, Ill./Springfield Southeast) had a team-high 23 points to lead NIU, Joe Munden Jr. (Harlem, N.Y./Monsignor Scanlan) chipped in 10 points. 

"I thought we did enough defensively to stay in the game, but we couldn't score," said NIU head coach Rashon Burno. "We have to find ways to generate more offense. I thought the guys competed, they didn't give up, but we have to figure out ways to score and rebound."

Kent State (10-4, 1-1 MAC) outrebounded the Huskies 51-32 and held a 46-16 edge in points in the paint. 

The Golden Flashes scored the first eight points to open the contest before Dent answered with four-straight. After a basket by Kent State, Dent knocked in a triple from the corner to trim the Kent State lead to just three, 10-7, in the early going. 

A pair of free throws by Ethan Butler (Toronto, Ontario/Southwest Academy) had the Huskies within four, 17-13, just before the midway point of the opening half, but the Golden Flashes answered with the next five as they extended their lead to nine. 

Butler finished with nine points and five rebounds. 

Leading by nine, 26-19, Kent State used a 9-0 burst to take a 35-19 lead with just over three minutes to play before the intermission. 

Kent State took a 35-21 lead into the break. VonCameron Davis had 16 points in the opening stanza to lead all scorers, Dent had 10 to pace the Huskies. The Golden Flashes shot 46.7 percent (14-of-30) from the field in the first 20 minutes while holding the Huskies to just 27.6 percent (8-of-29) shooting. 

With Kent State in front by 17 just over seven minutes to the second half, NIU used an 11-4 burst to pull within 10 with eight minutes to play, forcing a Kent State timeout. Dent opened the run with a triple before Munden added a three and Dent connected on another one from long-range. Quaran McPherson (South Jamaica Queens, N.Y./Link Year Prep) finished the run with a bucket as NIU cut the Kent State lead to 54-44. 

McPherson scored six points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds. 

The Golden Flashes led by 11 when a 6-0 burst extended the visitors' lead to 63-46 with 4:46 left, putting the game out of reach. 

Davis finished with 31 points and 10 rebounds for Kent State, going 14-of-28 from the field. Cli'ron Hornbeak added 10 points and 11 rebounds while Jalen Sullinger also scored 10 points. 

NIU will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 11, as the Huskies travel to Athens, Ohio, to face the Ohio Bobcats. Tipoff is slated for 12 p.m. CT.