DEKALB, Ill. – Taj Walters (Bronx, N.Y./Moravian Prep) tip-in at the buzzer lifted the Northern Illinois University men's basketball to a 74-73 victory over Central Michigan on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 20) in the Mid-American Conference opener at the NIU Convocation Center. The Huskies rallied from down 20 with 14:30 left to claim the win. 

Dylan Ducommun (Geneva, Switzerland) netted a team-high 18 points, Gustav Winther (Roskilde, Denmark) finished with a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, Walters scored 13 points and Makhai Valentine (Munhall, Pa./Steel Valley) chipped in 10 points. 

NIU's 20-point comeback is its largest since Nov. 30, 2014, when the Huskies overcame a 21-point deficit to defeat Maine, 61-56. 

"To be down 20 at home, you really don't know what you have until you are tested," said NIU head coach Rashon Burno. "We have all the mantras, stay together, shared adversity, but until you are getting challenged and squeezed, you don't know what you have. We ended up on the right size because the guys stuck together. They got stops, they made free throws. It wasn't a lot of loud plays, they just diligently broke (Central Michigan) down possession-after-possession."

Tailing 62-45 with 9:40 left, five-straight points from Ducommun started a 9-2 spurt for NIU as the Huskies cut the Central Michigan lead down to just 10. Winther and Walters added baskets off offensive rebounds during the burst as the Huskies trimmed the Chippewas lead to 64-54 with 7:42 to go. 

Following a free throw for Central Michigan, the Huskies scored the five, capped by a Walters layup off a turnover, as NIU pulled within a half-dozen, 65-59, with 5:49 remaining.

Still trailing by six, Ducommun found Valentine for a dunk with 2:24 left, bringing NIU within four, 70-66. 

Central Michigan went back up by seven, 73-66, with a triple with 1:54 left, but NIU scored the next six on free throws from Winther and Ducommun, sandwiched around a Ducommun bucket, as NIU cut the Chippewa lead to one, 73-72, with 12 seconds remaining. 

NIU (5-7, 1-0 MAC) fouled with 6.8 seconds remaining and Central Michigan missed the front end of the one-and-one. With no timeouts, the Huskies raced the length of the floor and Ducommun missed the initial shot, but Walters tipped the ball in just before the horn to complete the comeback. 

"Coach Burno has been telling me to be a dawg on the boards," said Walters. "I saw Dylan (Ducommun) drive, he could have made the shot, but I didn't want to give up on the play. There was a rebound, I got it and that was it."

Central Michigan (4-8, 0-1 MAC) led 12-11 in the early going before the Chippewas used a 12-2 burst to push its advantage to 24-13 with 9:15 to play in the opening half, forcing a NIU timeout. The visitors added a triple out of the timeout as the Central Michigan advantage grew to 27-13. 

A pair of free throws from Walters sparked a 6-2 burst for the Huskies as NIU trimmed the Central Michigan lead to 31-20. Gianni Cobb (Chicago, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) added a bucket and Walters had a dunk off a Chippewa turnover during the spurt. 

The Chippewas hit a triple as time expired to end the half as they took a 44-27 lead into the intermission. 

With the visitors in front, 48-34, Central Michigan used a 6-0 burst to increase its lead to 54-34 with 14:32 to play in the second half.  

A corner triple from Walters ended the CMU run and ignited a 9-2 burst for the Huskies, trimming the CMU lead to 56-43 with 11:09 left, but the Chippewas scored next four as the lead for the visitors ballooned back to 17, 60-43. 

Nick Mullen and Nathan Claerbaut each scored 18 points to lead Central Michigan; Logan McIntire added 14 points. 

NIU will take a 10-day holiday break before returning to action on Tuesday, Dec. 30, when the Huskies host Buffalo. Game time against the Bulls is scheduled for 7 p.m. and tickets are available now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets.