Narrow Miss: Second Half Surge Can’t Overcome Western Michigan

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Northern Illinois University men’s basketball squad was down by 15 points early in the second half but mounted a comeback to seize a late advantage, only to see that advantage dissipate as the Huskies were defeated by Western Michigan, 72-70, on Tuesday evening (Jan. 21) at University Arena. 

James Dent Jr. (Springfield, Ill./Springfield Southeast) spearheaded four Huskies in double digits with 18 points. Quentin Jones (Chicago, Ill./Marian Catholic) scored all 17 of his points in the second half, while also assisting a team-high seven times. Ethan Butler (Toronto, Ontario/Southwest Academy) contributed 13 points and Quaran McPherson (South Jamaica Queens, N.Y./Link Year Prep) added 11 points along with a team-best nine rebounds. 

“We put ourselves in a position to win,” stated NIU head coach Rashon Burno. “We were 15-of-16 from the charity stripe, but our weak spot was free throw box outs. I was impressed with our players’ resilience in the second half, coming back from as much as 15 down. They remained composed; they adhered to the game plan.” 

Western Michigan (5-13, 2-4 MAC) possessed a 15-point cushion, 46-31, but NIU fought back largely thanks to an 11-0 surge. Dent initiated the momentum with a pair of free throws, Nasir Muhammad (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) added a basket, followed by a score from McPherson and five consecutive points from Jones, narrowing the Western Michigan advantage to just 49-47 with a little over 11 minutes left in the game. 

Jones made a short jumper to even the score at 51. Western Michigan responded with the next six points before Jones hit a three-pointer to cut the Bronco lead in half, 57-54, with 6:49 remaining. 

Western Michigan’s lead stretched back to five, but Jones converted a three-point play, and a pair of free throws from McPherson tied the game at 59. The Broncos and Huskies exchanged baskets, after which Western Michigan landed a three-pointer to move ahead by three. Tsvet Sotirov (Rolling Meadows, Ill./Rolling Meadows) answered with a corner three, tying the game at 64 with four minutes to go. 

A layup from Butler after a Western Michigan free throw provided the Huskies a one-point lead, yet the Broncos scored the next four points to reclaim the advantage, 69-66, with 93 seconds remaining. 

Dent converted a runner in the lane with 18.5 seconds left to bring NIU within one, 69-68. 

Western Michigan hit two free throws to extend its lead to three with 17.1 seconds to play, before McPherson completed a putback layup with six seconds remaining, cutting the Bronco lead to 71-70. 

The Broncos split a pair of free throws, missing the second attempt, ensuring NIU, with no timeouts remaining, had to race the length of the court down by two. However, a shot from just inside the half-court mark failed to convert, allowing the hosts to secure the victory. 

Chansey Willis Jr. recorded 18 points to lead Western Michigan. JaVaughn Hannah contributed 17 and Donovan Williams added 15 points for the Broncos. 

In the first half, a couple of baskets by Dent, sandwiched with two free throws from McPherson, propelled the Huskies to an early 6-0 run as NIU led 11-7. 

Western Michigan then scored the next five points to take a one-point lead before Dent drained a three-pointer, giving the Huskies a 14-12 advantage just before the midway point of the half. 

After the teams exchanged three-pointers, Western Michigan went on a 10-0 run to seize a 25-17 lead. 

The Bronco advantage grew to 31-19 before an old-fashioned three-point play from Butler pulled the score back to single digits with 5:19 remaining in the half. 

Western Michigan’s lead swelled to 14, the highest of the half, in the final minute before Butler capped the scoring with two free throws, as the Broncos led 39-27 at halftime. Williams was the leading scorer with 13 points for Western Michigan, while James Dent Jr. led the Huskies with 11. 

The Broncos shot 48.3 percent (14-of-29) from the floor in the first half while limiting the Huskies to just 34.8 percent (8-of-23). 

Jones made a couple of baskets and assisted Dent for a corner three at the start of the second half, but the Broncos matched the Huskies shot-for-shot, leading 48-36 with 15:29 to play before the Huskie’s 11-0 run brought them back into contention. 

The Huskies shot 51.6 percent (16-of-31) in the second half while restricting the Broncos to just 29 percent (9-of-31) from the field during the second half, but NIU was unable to overcome a 42-27 rebounding difference favoring the Broncos, who also had a 17-8 edge in second-chance points. 

NIU will be back at home on Saturday, Jan. 25, when the Huskies take on Ball State in the second matchup of a Huskie basketball doubleheader. Furthermore, NIU Athletics will commemorate its 125th anniversary on Saturday; tickets are available now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets or by contacting the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at (815) 753-PACK (7225).