Wearied Huskies thrashed by Vandals in Idaho visit
NIU sophomore guard Zarique Nutter attempts a layup at the beginning of the second half in NIU’s non-conference matchup with Purdue University Northwest on Monday. Nutter’s layup attempt was successful, giving NIU its first score of the second half on its way to a 99-73 victory. (Mingda Wu | Northern Star)
DeKALB – NIU men’s basketball fell to the University of Idaho Vandals in a blowout 84-47 loss Friday, as the Huskies sit at 3-6 on the season.
The Huskies have two games remaining on their eight game road trip, where they have managed to go 2-4.
Junior guard Keyshawn Williams led the Huskies in scoring and rebounding in the game, as his statline included 10 points on 4-for-14 shooting with seven rebounds and two steals. Williams was the only player for NIU to score double digit points. This is Williams’ fourth straight game as NIU’s top scorer.
Sophomore guard Zarique Nutter was the Huskies’ next highest scorer for the game, finishing with eight points and two rebounds. Sophomore guard David Coit also finished with eight points, as well as two rebounds and two steals.
Freshman forward Yanic Konan Niederhauser only saw 16 minutes of action in the game before fouling out of the game with a final statline of four points, two steals and one block. Niederhauser was responsible for almost 33 percent of the Huskies personal fouls. NIU totaled 16 personal fouls in their loss.
As a team, the Huskies shot 18-for-54 from the field and only shot 3-for-14 from three point range. NIU allowed Idaho to shoot 31-for-56 in the game, including allowing Idaho to shoot over 60 percent in the second half. The Vandals also shot 11-for-28 from three point range and 11-for-12 from the free throw line.
“We were just a dead team,” head coach Rashon Burno said. “(Idaho) made plays, they were exactly who we thought they were, but we weren’t who we thought we were. The travel, time difference, that was a tired bunch. This was a scheduling loss where we just didn’t have any energy, any fight that was needed to win on the road.”
The Huskies managed to keep the score close in the first half, but after an 11-2 Idaho run, the Huskies trailed by a score of 35-24 going into half time. The second half was not as kind to NIU, as after a 9-0 run by Idaho with 14:36 left in the second half the score was 48-28 in favor of Idaho.
The Huskies will continue their road trip with a game against No. 14 Gonzaga University Bulldogs (5-3) that will take place at 8 p.m. CST on Dec. 12 at the McCarthy Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington.
