OXFORD, Ohio – In a game that featured 12 ties and 21 lead changes, junior Travon Baker banked home a runner in the lane to lift the Northern Illinois University men’s basketball team to a 69-67 victory at Miami (Ohio) on Wednesday night.
Baker scored a team-high 16 points while sophomore Aaric Armstead and senior Anthony Johnson each added 12 points as the Huskies closed the game on an 8-0 to earn just the third win in program history at Miami.
“If you are a fan of basketball and you didn’t know either team you saw some good basketball,” said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. “It was a one or two possession game the whole time and we had to come up big at the end of the game. We got down five and ended the game on an 8-0 run. Two huge shots by Travon Baker and another big-time shot by Aaron Armstead in the corner. “
A triple by Eric Washington gave Miami a six-point lead, 67-61, with 2:03 to play before NIU finished on an 8-0 run in the final two minutes.
On the possession following Washington’s triple, Baker knocked down a three to bring the Huskies back within three, 67-64. Following a turnover by the RedHawks, senior Aaron Armstead (Chicago, Ill./Hales Franciscan/San Jose City College) canned a corner trifecta to even the contest with 54 seconds to play.
A defensive stop by the Huskies gave NIU the ball with less than 20 seconds to play and Baker got into the lane and banked home a layup with 2.4 seconds left, giving the Huskies a two-point lead.
On the final possession, an off-balance Miami triple try rimmed out and the Huskies came away with their second road win in league play, improving to 9-11 overall, 3-6 in MAC play.
The win was NIU’s second consecutive victory in Oxford, but just its third win all-time at Miami. NIU’s only other win at Miami came in 1981.
After Miami jumped out to a quick 8-2 advantage, NIU answered with the next eight to take a 10-8 lead with just over 12 minutes to play in the first half. Senior Jordan Threloff started the burst with a layup, redshirt junior Keith Gray added a layup, Threloff split a pair from the line and Aaron Armstead put the Huskies in front with a triple from the corner.
The RedHawks responded with the next six to take a four-point lead, 14-10, but a pair of free throws by junior Darrell Bowie and a basket by Johnson pulled the Huskies even just past the midway point of the opening half.
Bowie finished with six points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Trailing by a pair, NIU used a six-point burst to move in front by four, 25-21. Bowie made a layup to start the burst, Johnson added a layup on the break and Baker finished on the run after a steal by Aaric Armstead.
Miami finished the first half on a 12-2 run to take a 33-27 lead into the break. Geovonie McKnight led all scorers with 13 points in the opening half for Miami; the RedHawks shot 56.5 percent (13-of-23) in the opening 20 minutes while the Huskies shot 47.4 percent (9-of-19) in the first half.
NIU scored the first nine of the second half to move back in front, 36-33, on a triple by Johnson and baskets by Bowie, redshirt freshman Marin Maric and Baker. Miami responded with the next six to take a 39-36 lead with 16:43 to play.
The Huskies and RedHawks went back-and-forth, with five-straight points from NIU pushing the Huskies back in front, 49-45, with just over 12 minutes to play, but Miami scored the next six to retake a two-point lead, 51-49.
A pair of free throws from Baker put NIU back in front, 54-53, with 8:41 to play before Miami scored the next five to take a four-point advantage, 58-54. The Miami lead grew to six as the game entered the final two minutes before NIU closed on a game-winning 8-0 run.
McKnight scored 18 points to lead Miami.
The Huskies will return home on Saturday, Feb. 7, as they host Bowling Green on Alumni Day as part of a doubleheader with the Huskie women’s basketball team. The NIU women’s team will face Akron at 5 p.m., followed by the Huskie men vs. Bowling Green at 7 p.m.
