DEKALB, Ill. – A second half surge helped Ball State claim a 79-43 victory over the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 28) at the NIU Convocation Center. The Cardinals led by seven at the intermission before an early second half run put the game out of reach. 

Ball State shot 50 percent (30-of-60) from the field, including 44 percent (11-of-25) from three-point range while holding NIU to just 25.6 percent (11-of-43) and 23.5 percent (4-of-17) from three. 

"This was an extremely disappointing performance," said NIU head coach Rashon Burno. "We weren't ready to play. We lacked discipline, toughness … our guys are pretty beat up about our performance. I thought they had the right intentions; we just couldn't execute anything from start to finish."

Tied at three in the early going, Ball State used a quick 9-0 burst to lead, 12-3, with 16:29 to play in the opening half. 

A triple from Dylan Ducommun (Geneva, Switzerland) ended the Ball State run, but the Cardinals scored the next seven after as the visitors took a 19-6 lead with 14:32 remaining before the intermission. 

Ball State (10-19, 5-11) led 24-9 when NIU went on a 7-0 run. Daemar Kelly (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) opened the run with a basket, Gustav Winther (Roskilde, Denmark) finished at the rim and Kelly added a triple to bring the Huskies back within eight with 7:31 left before halftime. 

Following a basket for the Cardinals, Kelly made a pair of free throws and Taj Walters (Bronx, N.Y./Moravian Prep) knocked in a triple to cut the Ball State advantage to just five, 26-21, with a little over four minutes to play before the break. 

Kelly finished with a team-high nine points for the Huskies. 

The Cardinals went in front by a dozen, 33-21, before NIU (9-19, 4-12 MAC) closed the half on an 8-3 spurt as Walters made a basket, Gianni Cobb (Chicago, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) went 4-of-4 from the line and Makhai Valentine (Munhall, Pa./Steel Valley) closed the scoring as Ball State took a 36-29 lead into halftime. 

Davion Hill led all scorers with 10 first half points for Ball State, Kelly and Walters paced the Huskies with seven points each. 

Ball State scored the first 21 points to start the second half as the Cardinals took a 57-29 lead. The Cardinal shot 53.3 percent (16-of-30) from the field in the second half while holding the Huskies to just 14.3 percent (3-of-21). 

Hill finished with 17 points to lead the way for Ball State. Armoni Zeigler added 13 points, Elmore James and Kayden Fish each chipped in 12 while Devon Barnes scored 11. 

NIU will be back home for the final time this season on Tuesday, March 3, when the Huskies host Kent State. Tipoff against the Golden Flashes is scheduled for 7 p.m. and tickets are available now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets.