DeKALB – NIU men’s basketball (1-1) earned its first win of the season in a 105-37 bludgeoning of Holy Cross College (Indiana) (2-2).
“It’s a step in the right direction,” said NIU basketball head coach Rashon Burno. “You need to have some good momentum going your way. We require a lot for our student athletes to compete and be present … and so to have this type of result gives them confidence.”
NIU started the game on an 11-0 run, scoring 4 points on 2 forced turnovers. The Huskies closed the first half leading Holy Cross by a score of 50-21.
Throughout the game, the Huskies had five players finish in double digits, with sophomore guard Quenton Jones, junior forward Ethan Butler and senior guard James Dent Jr. leading NIU in points with 14 each.
Dent also totaled 7 rebounds and 4 assists in 20 minutes of play.
“We had the advantage on size so that was pretty much the game plan,” Jones said. “Get down there in the paint and shoot for those, then we just do what we do, just move the ball, get down hill and play our game as a team.”
Butler logged 6 points in the first half, while grabbing 3 rebounds and blocking 3 shots.
Butler finished the game with 14 points on 7-for-8 shooting, grabbed 6 rebounds and blocked 3 shots.
“He’s (Butler) a big help. We’re going to need him a lot this season, his body, his frame,” Dent said. “He’s on the boards so he’s a big help. So he stepped up for us, he’ll be playing the five, or the four.”
The Huskies had seven players score 5 or more points in the first half, with their leading scorer being sophomore guard Kailon Nicholls, with 8 first half points.
Nicholls posted 10 points for the game, while also grabbing 3 rebounds and dishing out 2 assists.
The Huskies shot 64.5%, 20-for-31, from the field in the first half and 46.7%, 7-for-15, from three. NIU finished the game shooting 66.7%, 42-for-63, from the field and 50%, 13-for-26, from the field.
NIU saw a 27% increase in shooting percentage from the field in this game compared to Monday’s season opener. The Huskies have also seen a 23% increase in their 3-point shooting compared to Monday’s loss.
NIU also forced 9 turnovers from Holy Cross in the first half and scored 11 points off those turnovers. In their season opener, the Huskies only scored 9 points off of 15 turnovers.
“We just played with more poise, slowed the game down without slowing down,” Dent said. “Getting our offense together with more continuity.”
NIU finished the game with 30 points off of 19 turnovers, while Holy Cross finished the game with just 4 points off of 14 turnovers from the Huskies.
“Our abilities to get in passing lanes, we did a really good job of guarding without fouling and once you can get out in transition and get easy buckets and make you feel a little bit better,” Burno said.
UP NEXT
The Huskies next game will be at 6 p.m. CST Tuesday at the Convocation Center in DeKalb against Monmouth College. Listening is available through Stream the World and live stats are available via SIDEARM Sports.
