DEKALB, Ill. – Buffalo raced out to an 11-point halftime lead and held on for a 72-67 victory over the Northern Illinois University men’s basketball team on Tuesday night at the NIU Convocation Center. The Bulls held the Huskies to just 4-of-22 (18.2 percent) from three-point range in the contest.
Quentin Jones scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Quaran McPherson had 17 points and seven boards.
“Disappointed with the start of the game, we came out flat,” said NIU head coach Rashon Burno. “In the first half we took a lot of bad shots, a lot of quick shots and we had 10 turnovers in the first half. We are a team that averages around 10 for the entire game, 11 max. I thought our lack of attention to details in the first half hurt us. (Buffalo) scored 32 points in the first half, so we kept them on pace for their average, but what we did offensively put us behind the eight-ball.”
Buffalo (8-16, 3-8 MAC) scored the first five, followed by seven-straight by the Huskies, capped by a Jones triple, as the Huskies took a 7-5 lead in the early going.
The Bulls scored the next seven to go in front by five and then used an 8-2 burst to lead 20-11 with 11:19 to play in the half, forcing a Huskie timeout.
Buffalo’s lead grew to double figures before back-to-back buckets from McPherson brought NIU back within a half-dozen, 23-17, with 5:45 to play before the intermission.
The visitors were in front by seven when they used a 6-2 spurt to take a 32-21 lead with just under a minute to play until the break. Buffalo took that lead into halftime, Tyson Dunn led the Bulls with 10 points in the opening 20 minutes, McPherson had 10 to pace NIU. Buffalo was 5-of-11 (45.5 percent) from three-point range in the opening stanza while NIU was just 1-of-13 (7.7 percent).
NIU (5-19, 1-10 MAC) used a 7-2 burst to begin the second half to cut the deficit to just a half-dozen, 34-28. Nasir Muhammad and James Dent Jr. both made baskets before McPherson knocked in a triple with 17:55 to play to force a Buffalo timeout.
Dent finished with 11 points and six rebounds.
Buffalo led by eight before NIU went on an 11-2 run to move in front, 46-45, with 9:46 left. Jones made a pair of baskets during the run, including an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Huskies the lead.
The visitors scored the next four to move back ahead by three. Ethan Butler scored to bring the Huskies within one, but Buffalo then used a 7-2 spurt to take a 56-50 advantage with 4:44 to play.
NIU was back within a pair following a bucket from Butler and a pair of free throws by McPherson, but Buffalo answered with a four-point play as the Bulls led 62-56 with 2:03 left.
Butler finished with 12 points on 5-of-7 from the field.
Trailing by five, Dent was fouled shooting a three and made all three from the line to get NIU within a pair, 69-67, with 31 seconds to go. After a Huskie foul, Buffalo missed a pair from the line, giving the ball back to NIU with a chance to tie or go ahead. Two chances for the hosts came up empty before Buffalo grabbed the rebound and finished the game at the free-throw line.
Dunne had 22 points to lead the Bulls. Noah Batchelor added 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds while Tim Oboh and Ryan Sabol each chipped in 11 points.
The Huskies head on the road for their next two games as NIU travels to Ball State on Saturday, Feb. 15 and Akron on Tuesday, Feb. 18.
