DAYTON, Ohio – David Douglas Jr. (Park Forest, Ill./Yorkville Christian) scored 27 points and
Max Weisbrod (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) added 19 as the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team toppled Dayton, 81-76, in overtime on Saturday night (Dec. 7) at UD Arena for the first win of the Matt Majkrzak era at NIU.
"What makes me the most proud is how we did it," said Majkrzak. "I know our offense is going to be good this year, but the concerns could be rebounding and defense. We go plus-14 (rebounding) on a pretty tough-minded, strong Dayton program, and we go to overtime after the brutal travel week we had and we found a way to persevere and win the game.
Bennett Basich (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) hit a triple to begin the overtime and, after Dayton scored the next four to go back in front by one, NIU used a 6-2 spurt to take a 76-73 lead. Douglas and Weisbrod both made a pair of free throws and Basich made a layup as the Huskies led by three with 1:40 to go.
Following a free throw from Dayton, both teams had an empty possession as NIU got the ball back with under a minute to play. Weisbrod buried a triple with 22 seconds left as the NIU lead grew to 79-74 and Basich sealed the victory with a pair of free throws with four seconds left.
Basich scored seven of NIU's 14 points in overtime, finishing with nine points.
"As good as Max (Weisbrod) and DJ (David Douglas) were, and they were that good, I just think it is about our team not quitting," said Majkrzak. "We didn't quit at Tulsa when we were down big early, and that set the tone for tonight."
NIU (1-2) scored the first six to open the contest as baskets from
Mykolas Ivanauskas (Chicago, Ill./Sunrise Christian Academy) and Douglas, along with a pair of free throws from Weisbrod to give the Huskies an early lead.
Dayton cut the lead to 7-4 before a wing triple from Douglas pushed the NIU advantage back to a half-dozen with 15:29 to play in the opening half.
A basket from
Keller Hanson (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice) ignited a 9-2 burst for the visitors. Douglas had the next seven in the run for NIU as the Huskies opened up a 22-10 lead just before the midway point of the half.
In front by 10,
Nino Carter-Smith (Detroit, Mich./Warren De La Salle) knocked in a triple as the NIU advantage grew to 27-14 with eight minutes to play before the intermission.
The hosts trimmed the Huskie lead to 29-18 until back-to-back triples from Hanson and Carter-Smith gave NIU its largest lead of the night, 35-18, with just under four minutes to play in the half.
Dayton (1-1) answered with 11 of the next 14 as the Flyers trimmed the NIU advantage to 38-29 before Weisbrod closed the scoring in the opening half with a pair of free throws, giving the Huskies a 40-29 lead at the break.
Douglas led all scorers with 15 points in the opening 20 minutes as the Huskies shot 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from beyond the arc in the first half. The two teams combined for 24 fouls in the opening 20 minutes as NIU went 14-of-16 (87.5 percent) from the free-throw line and Dayton went 11-of-17 (64.7 percent).
Dayton scored the first 10 to begin the second half as the Flyers cut the NIU lead to 40-39 with 12:52 to play before Douglas pushed the Huskie advantage back to four with an old-fashioned three-point play.
After the Flyers took their first lead of the night, 46-45, just past the midway point of the second half, NIU responded with a layup from Douglas, a triple from Weisbrod and an old-fashioned three-point play from
Brayden Gross (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville HS) as the Huskies reclaimed the lead, 53-46 with 7:49 to play.
With NIU in front by five, 56-51, Dayton used a 10-0 run to go in front by five, 61-56, with four minutes remaining.
NIU answered with a corner triple from Douglas as the Huskies pulled back within a pair, 61-59.
The Huskies reclaimed the lead, 64-62, on a triple from Carter-Smith with 1:52 to play. Dayton then scored the next five to lead by three, 67-64.
Weisbrod canned a trifecta with 13 seconds left to tie the game at 67 and, following a Dayton timeout, the Huskies got a stop to send the game to overtime.
Aiden Derkack led the Flyers with 20 points, Landen Joseph added 19 and Amael L'Etang chipped in with 16 points.
NIU will return home on Wednesday, Nov. 11, as the Huskies host Clarke University. Tipoff against the Pride is scheduled for 6 p.m. and tickets are available now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets or by calling the NIU Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225).
