CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team trailed Northern Iowa by just one with 6:32 left, but the Panthers held the Huskies to just one field goal the rest of the contest as Northern Iowa outlasted NIU, 70-57, on Tuesday night (Nov. 18) at the McLeod Center. 

Dylan Ducommun (Geneva, Switzerland), making his collegiate debut, scored 12 points and dished out seven assists to lead the way for NIU. Daemar Kelly (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) added 10 points, including 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. 

A triple from Ducommun, the third of the night for the Huskies, gave NIU (3-2) a 9-5 lead in the early going before Northern Iowa used a quick 5-0 burst to take a 10-9 lead with 14:15 to play in the opening half. Kelly then made five free throws to help give the Huskies an 18-16 lead.

A 6-0 burst from the Panthers gave the lead back to Northern Iowa, 22-19, with 4:36 remaining in the opening half before Ducommun ended the run for the hosts with a free throw. 

Jao Ituka (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg) finished in the lane to even the game at 24 with three minutes to play. After a free throw put Northern Iowa back in front, Makhai Valentine (Munhall, Pa./Steel Valley) knocked in NIU's fourth triple of the half to put the Huskies in front, 27-25, with 2:10 remaining in the half. 

Northern Iowa (4-0) hit a triple at the buzzer to end the half as the Panthers took a 32-29 lead into the intermission. Leon Bond III, Tristan Smith and RJ Taylor each had seven points to lead the hosts at halftime, Kelly had seven for NIU. Northern Iowa shot 50 percent (13-of-26) from the field in the opening stanza while NIU shot 95 percent (9-of-20), including 44.4 percent (4-of-9) from three. 

The Panthers opened the second 20 minutes with a 6-0 run as the hosts took a 38-29 advantage in the first two minutes after the break. A triple helped the Northern Iowa lead grow to a dozen before Gustav Winther (Roskilde, Denmark) ended the run with a finish at the rim to cut the Panther lead to 41-31. 

A triple from Ladji Kante (Marseille, France) brought NIU back within eight, 45-37, before Ducommun and Winther each added baskets to cut the Northern Iowa lead to just four with a little over 12 minutes to play. 

Kelly converted a three-point play out of a timeout to extend the NIU run to 10-0 and cut the Northern Iowa lead to just one, 45-44. 

The Panthers finally ended their scoring drought of more than five minutes with a triple to lead by four. Northern Iowa then made a free throw as they led 49-44 at the midway point of the half. A spinning layup from Ituka and a corner triple from Valentine evened the game at 49.

Northern Iowa answered with the next six points as the Panthers took a 55-49 lead. Valentine then converted on a pair from the line as NIU trimmed the Northern Iowa advantage back to just four. After a defensive stop for the Huskies, Ducommun knocked in a trifecta from the wing to pull NIU within one, 55-54, with 6:20 to play. 

Once again, the hosts had an answer as they scored the next seven to extend their lead to 62-54 with 5:13 remaining.

The Panthers shot 61 percent (11-of-18) from the field in the second half while holding the Huskies to just 37 percent (10-of-37). 

Smith finished with 18 points to lead the way for Northern Iowa. Trey Campbell added 15 points while Will Hornseth and Bond each finished with 12. 

NIU will return to action on Friday night, Nov. 21, when the Huskies travel to Rogers Park to take on Loyola Chicago. Tipoff against the Ramblers is slated for 7 p.m. and will be televised by Marquee Sports Network.