OXFORD, Ohio – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team and 24th-ranked Miami traded the lead 12 times and were tied nine before the host RedHawks pulled away in the latter stages to claim an 85-61 victory over the Huskies on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 31) at Millett Hall. 

Gianni Cobb (Chicago, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) and Taj Walters (Bronx, N.Y./Moravian Prep) each scored new career highs with 17 points to lead the way for NIU. 

NIU (7-14, 3-7) trailed by just two at the break before Miami shot 56.7 percent (17-of-30) from the field in the second half, while holding NIU to just 32 percent (8-of-25), as the RedHawks claimed their 28th consecutive home win. 

Cobb scored a half-dozen early in the contest as NIU led 9-6 with 16:36 to play in the opening half.

After Miami scored the next five to go in front by a pair, 11-9, NIU used a 9-0 run to take an 18-11 lead with 13:39 to play in before the intermission. 

Miami (22-0, 10-0 MAC) scored a bucket to end the run but Walters answered with a corner triple to give the Huskies a 21-13 advantage and ignite an 8-3 NIU burst. Walters added a layup and Cobb knocked in a triple on the run as NIU led 26-16 just before the midway point of the half. 

The hosts responded with a 9-2 run of their own as Miami cut the NIU lead to 28-25 with a little less than eight minutes to play before the break. 

A triple from Dylan Ducommun (Geneva, Switzerland) gave NIU a 33-28 lead. Miami then used an 8-2 burst to move in front, 36-35, less than two minutes before the intermission. 

Ducommun finished with eight points and a team-high six rebounds. 

Miami took a 40-38 lead into halftime. Brant Byers had 12 points to lead the RedHawks in the opening 20 minutes while Cobb had 13 and Walters had 11 to pace the Huskies. NIU shot 50 percent (15-of-30) from the field in the opening stanza, but Miami went 9-of-12 (75 percent) from the free-throw line in the first half to just 4-of-7 (57.1 percent) for NIU. 

A basket by Cobb and an old-fashioned three-point play from Walters gave NIU a 45-44 lead a little over two minutes into the second half. 

Miami was back in front by one until back-to-back triples from Makhai Valentine (Munhall, Pa./Steel Valley) and Ducommun put the Huskies in front, 51-46, with 16 minutes left to play. 

A 13-1 run helped the RedHawks take a 60-53 lead with 12:32 remaining. Following a free throw from Gustav Winther (Roskilde, Denmark), the Miami run grew to 18-2 as the advantage ballooned to 65-54 for the RedHawks. 

The Huskies were back within nine after buckets from Winther and Walters, but Miami closed on an 11-0 run to close out the contest. 

Byers finished with 21 points to lead the way for Miami. Peter Suder added 19 points, Antwone Woolfolk scored 14 and grabbed 12 rebounds while Luka Skaljac chipped in 13 points and Justin Kirby added 10. 

The Huskies will return to action next Saturday, Feb. 7, when they travel to Atlanta to take on Georgia State in the MAC/Sun Belt Challenge.