Dupage Policy Journal

The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team shot 61.5 percent (16-of-26) from the field in the second half to erase a one-point halftime deficit and claim an 81-77 victory over Miami on Tuesday night (Jan. 17) at Millett Hall. David Coit (Columbus, N.J.) scored a team-high 21 points, Zarique Nutter (Newark, N.J.) added 16, Kaleb Thornton (Bolingbrook, Ill.) chipped in 13 points and Anthony Crump (Inkster, Mich.) netted 11 in the victory. 

Darweshi Hunter (Cincinnati, Ohio) went 4-of-4 from the free-throw line in the final minute to help seal the victory for the Huskies. Hunter finished with nine points. 

"This is our first win that really came down to the wire and games like this are really helpful for these guys and for their confidence that they can go out and get wins on the road," said NIU head coach Rashon Burno. "Take our hats off to Miami, they extended the game, to keep it close, but the start of the second half was crucial. I thought we got off to a good start, they went up by three, we scored four to go up by one and went from there."

A triple from Coit ignited an early 9-2 burst for the Huskies as NIU led 12-6 at the first media timeout. Crump added a free throw before Coit drove for a layup and Thornton knocked in his second triple of the early going to put the Huskies in front by a half-dozen. 

Back-to-back threes from Miami helped the RedHawks pull back even at 14 with just under 13 minutes to play in the half. 

NIU responded with 10 of the next 12 as Coit and Nutter started the run, Miami followed with a basket before Thornton and Coit each knocked in a three to give NIU a 24-16 lead. 

A putback from Harvin Ibarguen (Cali, Colombia) helped the Huskie lead grow to double-digits, 30-20. After a triple from Hunter, NIU once again led by double-digits, 35-25, but Miami closed the half on a 15-4 run as the RedHawks took a 40-39 lead into halftime. 

Morgan Safford led all scorers with 14 points in the opening half for Miami, Anderson Mirambeaux added 12. Coit paced the Huskies with 12 first half points as NIU went 6-of-12 from three in the opening 20 minutes, but the RedHawks shot 53.6 percent (15-of-28) from the field in the first stanza. 

A 9-2 run early in the second half helped the Huskies move back in front, 53-48. Coit opened the burst with a triple and would add a layup during the run while Ibarguen and Nutter also scored as NIU took a five-point lead. 

After Miami made a basket to trim the NIU advantage to three, the Huskies scored six straight on a dunk from Crump, a bucket from Nuter and a floater from Coit as NIU led 59-50 with just under 12 minutes to play. The Huskies opened the second half 9-of-11 from the field. 

A dunk from Crump, off a feed from Coit, gave the Huskies a 69-58 lead. After a free throw from Miami, Coit had a steal and went coast-to-coast for a layup, giving NIU a 71-59 lead with just under six minutes to play, forcing a Miami timeout. 

A basket by Nutter gave the Huskies a 76-67 lead with 2:17 to play before Miami answered with the next six to cut the NIU advantage to just three with just under a minute to play. 

Another Miami bucket, after the Huskies split a pair of free throws, brought the RedHawks within a pair. Hunter then stepped to the line and made two free throws, giving NIU a 79-75 lead with 26.2 seconds left. 

Following another Miami score, Hunter once again made a pair at the line as the lead grew back to four. The Huskies then forced a RedHawk turnover to seal the road win. 

Safford finished with a game-high 27 points to lead Miami. Mirambeaux added 18 points and Mekhi Lairy chipped in 15. 

NIU will be back on the road on Saturday, Jan. 21, as the Huskies head to Eastern Michigan. Game time against the Eagles is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT. 

Original source can be found here