ESTERO, Fla. -- Defense and rebounding are the foundation on which the Northern Illinois University men’s basketball program has been built and it was an offensive rebound and a block in the final seconds that helped lift the Huskies to a 70-68 victory over Manhattan on Wednesday morning in the Gulf Coast Showcase at Germain Arena.
Sophomore Noah McCarty grabbed an offensive rebound that led to a game-winning floater by junior Levi Bradley and, on the next possession, sophomore Eugene German blocked a triple try from the corner to help seal the victory.
Bradley scored a team-high 22 points to pace the Huskies, German added 18 points and a team-best seven rebounds. The Huskies shot 48.2 percent (27-of-56) from the field and 80 percent (12-of-15) from the free-throw line.
“I give our guys a lot of credit,” said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. “After three days of basketball, our guys reached down and found that little extra to win the game. It was a total team win, huge plays by Levi Bradley, Eugene German and, probably the play of the game by Noah McCarty.”
NIU (3-2) and Manhattan were tied at 68 as the clock ticked under a minute to play when junior Dante Thorpe came up with a steal to give the Huskies a chance to go in front.
Thorpe finished the game with 10 points, five assists, four rebounds and that timely steal.
Following a Huskie timeout, NIU’s first chance to move in front was no good, but McCarty came up with the rebound on the opposite side. Sophomore Justin Thomas got the ball into the hands of Bradley in the lane and the junior from Milwaukee converted a floater to put the Huskies in front, 70-68.
On the final possession, a three-point attempt from the corner by Manhattan was blocked out of bounds by German, NIU’s only block of the game. The clock hit zero as the ball hit the floor and it appeared the game was over, but the officials went back and put three-tenths of a second back on the clock
With one more chance, Manhattan was unable to convert a tip-in and the Huskies survived for the two-point victory.
Rich Williams scored 24 points to lead the Jaspers, Pauly Paulicap added 17 and Calvin Crawford chipped in 11 points.
A 12-3 run helped to give NIU a 20-13 lead with 11:24 to play in the first half. Junior Anastasios Demogerontas opened the run with a basket, Thorpe added a pair of old-fashioned three-point plays while Bradley and freshman Owen Hamilton each had a pair as the Huskies took an early seven-point advantage.
Manhattan (2-3) trimmed the lead back to five before five-straight from German, including a triple from the wing, gave NIU a 30-20 lead with just over seven minutes to play, forcing a timeout from the Jaspers.
With the NIU advantage down to four, Thomas connected on a pair of free throws and Bradley added a bucket as the Huskies led by eight, 39-31, with a little less than two minutes to play before the intermission.
Five-straight points from Manhattan cut the Huskie lead to just three, but Demogerontas made a layup and Bradley hit a short jumper to give NIU a 43-36 lead at the intermission.
Manhattan opened the second half with a 9-4 burst to cut the NIU lead to just a pair, 47-45, with 15:23 remaining. After the Huskie lead went back to six, the Jaspers pulled even at 53 as an 8-2 cut brought Manhattan even with 10:46 left.
Bradley scored the next four as the Huskies continued to keep Manhattan from pulling ahead, but the Jaspers continued to claw their way back into the contest and tied the game again, 63-63, on a triple by Williams with 3:21 to go.
Manhattan finally took the lead on a short jumper by Ball State transfer Zavier Turner, but German raced right back for a layup to knot the game back up at 65.
After a pair of free throws by Thorpe, Calvin Crawford knocked down a three, giving Manhattan a 68-67 lead with 1:25 to play. NIU tied the game 19 seconds later when German split a pair of free throws, giving the ball back to Manhattan on the possession that would lead to Thorpe’s steal and Bradley’s game-winner.
NIU will return home when the Huskies host Rockford University on Sunday, Nov. 26, at 3:30 p.m., at the NIU Convocation Center.
