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Illinois wins, NIU loses in college basketball

 Malcolm Hill had a game-high
19 points to go with six rebounds, as Illinois upended the Michigan
State Spartans, 59-54, in Big Ten Conference play at the Breslin
Center.

Kendrick Nunn added 14 points and Nnanna Egwu finished with 12
points and nine rebounds for the Fighting Illini (16-8, 6-5 Big
Ten), winners of three straight.

Denzel Valentine led the Spartans (15-8, 6-4) with 16 points and
seven boards, while Branden Dawson also reached double figures with
12 points in a losing effort.

Michigan State jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead on Matt Costello's
layup at the 13:40 minute mark of the opening frame. However,
Illinois weathered the early storm and managed to take a 28-27
halftime lead into the locker room.

The Fighting Illini led by as many as seven midway through the
second stanza, and they held the Spartans to 34.5-percent shooting
from the floor over the final 20 minutes to preserve the victory.

Illinois shot a mere 41.2 percent for the game but committed only
nine turnovers to earn just its second road win of the season.

DEKALB, Ill. – After falling behind by 13 in the second half, the Northern Illinois University men’s basketball team rallied to within one in the final seconds, but the rally came up just short as the Huskies fell to Bowling Green, 69-65, on Saturday night at the NIU Convocation Center. Junior Travon Baker scored a game-high 20 points, one off his career-high, to lead NIU.

Senior Anthony Johnson  added 11 points and senior Aaron Armstead  chipped in 10 points.

“Tough game. Give Bowling Green credit, their zone definitely slowed us down,” said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. “We played with great energy and great effort, we had a big lead in the first half, I was just disappointed that we didn’t end the (first) half with a bigger lead.

“It was a typical MAC game. In the last five minutes, either team could win and we needed that one more stop. We were down one with less than a minute to go and (Jehovn) Clarke made a big shot. Credit Clarke, credit (Spencer) Parker, 18 and 16 points, they stepped up big off the bench.”

Bowling Green (15-6, 7-3 MAC) scored the first eight points of the second half to take a five-point lead, 36-31, less than four minutes into the second half. The Huskies trimmed the advantage back to three, 44-41, before the Falcons used a 10-0 run to take a 13-point lead, their largest of the night, with just over eight minutes to play.

NIU (9-12, 3-7 MAC) answered with the next seven, beginning with a basket from Johnson. Redshirt freshman Marin Maric (Split, Croatia/La Lumiere School) added a pair of free throws and Baker knocked down a triple as the Huskies cut the lead to 54-48 with just over six minutes left.

Maric finished with four points and a game-high nine rebounds.

The Falcons lead was still six as the clock ticked under two minutes to play, but a triple by sophomore Aaric Armstead  from the corner halved the advantage to three, 63-60, with 1:22 to play.

A defensive stop for NIU allowed the Huskies to cut the lead to just one as Baker made a pair of free throws with 47 seconds left.

Bowling Green ran the shot clock down on its next possession and Jehvon Clarke knocked down a late-clock jumper to push the lead back to three with 17 seconds to play.

A basket by Aaric Armstead and two free throws for Bowling Green gave the ball back to NIU, trailing 67-64, with six seconds on the clock. The Falcons fouled to avoid giving up a three-pointer, putting Baker at the line with three seconds left. Baker made the first, missed the second intentionally and the rebound was nearly tapped in by the Falcons, but Bowling Green grabbed the rebound and held on for the win.

Richaun Holmes scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the way for Bowling Green. Clarkes also added 18 points off the bench and Spencer Parker chipped in 16 from the bench as the Falcon reserves outscored the NIU bench, 36-16.

The Huskies raced out to a 10-0 start, making four of their first five field goal attempts. Baker opened the scoring with a triple; Johnson added a basket and junior Darrell Bowie (Milwaukee, Wis./La Jolla Prep) scored the next five, capped by a trifecta, forcing a Bowling Green timeout with 16:36 to play in the first half.

Bowling Green answered with the next four before the Huskies responded with seven-straight to push the lead to 17-4 with just under 12 minutes to play in the opening half. Aaron Armstead netted five of the seven as the Huskies pushed their lead to 13.

The NIU lead reached 18-4 on a free throw by Bowie before Bowling Green cut the lead in half with a 9-2 burst.

A basket by Baker pushed the NIU advantage back to nine, 22-13, with 7:32 to play in the first half before the Falcons pulled all the way back even, using a 15-6 run to tie the contest, 28-28, inside the final minute of the first half.

Johnson drained a triple in the final seconds of the opening 20 minutes as the Huskies reclaimed the lead, 31-28, at the break.

The Huskies will be back in action on Tuesday, Feb. 10, when they host Ball State. Game time against the Cardinals is slated for 7 p.m.

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