MUNCIE, Ind. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team cut a double-digit second half deficit to just three in the final seconds but Ball State was able to hang on for a 58-53 victory over the Huskies on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 24) at Worthen Arena. Gianni Cobb (Chicago, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) led the Huskies with 11 points, Makhai Valentine (Munhall, Pa./Steel Valley) added 10 points. 

The Cardinals led by eight with under two minutes to play until a pair of free throws from Hassan 'Tre' Washington (Providence, R.I./Prise Academy) started a 7-2 run for the Huskies. Daemar Kelly (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) added a bucket and Dylan Ducommun (Geneva, Switzerland) knocked in a three to cut the Ball State lead to three, 56-53, with 6.3 seconds left to play. 

Ball State (7-13, 3-5 MAC) through the ball the length of the floor where Davion Hill was fouled with 5.7 seconds on the clock. Hill made both of his free throws to put the contest out of reach. 

The Cardinals shot 44.7 percent (21-of-47) from the field in the contest while holding NIU to just 34.6 percent (18-of-52) shooting, including 14.3 percent (4-of-28) from three. 

Seven-straight points gave Ball State an early 13-4 lead before Taj Walters (Bronx, N.Y./Moravian Prep) ended the run with a bucket with 13:43 to play in the opening half, bringing the Huskies back within seven. 

Walters finished with nine points and a team-high seven rebounds. 

Ball State's lead was 10 before a layup by Cobb, followed by a steal and coast-to-coast layup from Cobb, cut the Cardinal advantage back to a half-dozen, 21-15, with 6:33 to play in the half, forcing a Ball State timeout. 

A free throw from Tre Washington brought the Huskies within five, 21-16. Ball State's lead grew back to nine before a pair of free throws from Valentine and a layup by Isaiah Washington (Fayetteville, N.C./Winston-Salem Christian) pulled the Huskies back within five with 1:46 to play in the half. 

The Ball State lead grew back to nine before a pair of free throws from Gustav Winther (Roskilde, Denmark) cut the gap to seven, 29-22, at the intermission. Cobb and Walters each had six points in the opening 20 minutes to pace NIU, Armoni Zeigler had 10 to lead Ball State. 

Ball State led by a dozen before five-straight points from Valentine brought NIU back within seven, 36-29, with 15:35 to play. 

NIU (6-13, 2-6 MAC) pulled within five, 40-35, on a wing triple from Walters with a little over 13 minutes remaining. 

A pair of free throws from Isaiah Washington and a layup in transition from Cobb helped the Huskies cut the Ball State lead to just four, 43-39, with 8:46 left. 

Trailing by six, Valentine knocked in a trifecta from the corner to cut the Ball State lead in half to just 47-44 with just under six minutes remaining. 

The hosts responded with a 7-2 burst as the Ball State lead ballooned to 54-46 with 1:54 left. 'Tre' Washington then made a pair of free throws to ignite the late rally that came up just short for the Huskies. 

NIU will return home on Tuesday night, Jan. 27, when the Huskies host Western Michigan. Game time against the Broncos is scheduled for 7 p.m. and tickets are available now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets.