DeKALB – NIU men’s basketball (9-18, 3-11 MAC) was demolished by Ohio University (15-12, 9-5 MAC) 80-59 Saturday following an ugly 3-for-21 shooting performance from behind the arc.
Junior guard David Coit finished with 27 points, but shot just 2-for-10 from three-point range. All Huskies not named Coit combined for an abysmal 1-11 from three.
Freshman guard Will Lovings-Watts was the only other Huskie to hit the double-digit scoring mark. Lovings-Watts scored 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting.
NIU finished the game shooting 41.5% from the field in its third-lowest scoring performance of the season.
THE OHIO SHOW
Ohio’s starting-five combined for 62 points and were led by sophomore forward Aidan Hadaway and fifth-year guard Miles Brown. Both players scored 17 points apiece.
Hadaway shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the field while Brown shot 6-for-8. The duo contributed to Ohio’s overall efficient shooting performance on Saturday, as the Bobcats finished with a field goal percentage of 52.7%.
Senior guard Jaylin Hunter, who is two weeks removed from being named MAC Co-Player of the Week, was held to just 4 points on Saturday but contributed 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Hunter averages 14.4 points per game.
Ohio’s stifling defense racked up 12 steals and 4 blocks against NIU.
LACK OF DEPTH, LACK OF HEART
The Huskies were missing two of their regular starters again on Saturday. Junior guard Zarique Nutter was seen sporting a walking boot on NIU’s bench and senior guard Philmon Grebrewhit wasn’t present at the game.
NIU men’s basketball head coach Rashon Burno pointed to the Huskies’ lack of effort and injuries as the main contributors to the loss.
“When you don’t have continuity, it screws up the chemistry,” Burno said. “It screws up the chemistry. But you know, this bunch of guys, we haven’t figured out how hard we have to play in order to win games consistently. That’s on me.”
The Huskies’ injury bug led to a surprising appearance by sophomore guard Steven Tipton. Tipton averages just 3.7 minutes per game and has 4 total points scored during the 2023-2024 season.
Tipton played 18 minutes against Ohio and finished with 0 points, 1 rebound and 2 personal fouls.
“Steven Tipton, who’s a walk on for us, played 17 minutes,” Burno said. “I wanna say him and (sophomore forward) Ethan Butler had the lowest plus minuses and a lot of that had to do with just effort. Like when you’re depleted, you got to play longer and harder than the opposing team. I don’t think we did a good job of doing that.”
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS
NIU recorded 17 turnovers as a team, 10 of them accumulating in the first half. Ohio swiped 12 steals and scored 24 points off of the Huskies’ errors, allowing them to seize momentum for a majority of the game.
Ohio led Saturday’s matchup for 35 minutes and 43 seconds.
Six of NIU’s total 17 turnovers were attributed to sophomore forward Xavier Amos. Amos, the Huskies’ third-leading scorer, finished with as many points as turnovers.
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
With the loss, NIU now sits in 11th place in the MAC and are three games behind Kent State University for the final spot in the MAC Tournament.
The Huskies have four games remaining in the 2023-2024 season and need a miracle to make it to Cleveland.
NIU travels to Toledo, Ohio for a matchup with the University of Toledo Rockets at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The game will be radio broadcasted on The Varsity Network.
