DeKALB – NIU men’s basketball (3-6) soundly defeated the Benedictine University Eagles (1-6) by a score of 89-70 as multiple Huskies reached career highs in points. The win snaps a five-game losing streak.
“Good opportunity to get back on the winning track,” said NIU men’s basketball head coach Rashon Burno. “We had a tough stretch coming into the game with some really good opponents, so this was good to get some guys who haven’t played a lot (an) opportunity to play tonight.”
The Huskies set the tone early, jumping out to a 16-2 lead in the first eight minutes. NIU would exit the opening frame with a 46-33 lead.
Junior guard Quaran McPherson led the charge with 20 points in the first half, shattering his previous career best of 14. The South Jamaica Queens, New York, native shot 8-for-14 from the field and 4-for-5 from three-point range.
McPherson finished the game with 20 points and team-leading 9 rebounds as cramps limited him to 19 minutes on the court.
“I just was really dialed in, trying to just be myself offensively and let it come to me,” McPherson said. “The ball was going and so I just kept shooting.”
Sophomore guard Kailon Nicholls also recorded a career high with 14 points. Additionally, Nicholls added 4 assists and 2 steals while playing a season-high 34 minutes.
“I think for me, it was more just my teammates – rallying around my teammates,” Nicholls said. “They know what I expect out of myself, and they expect high standards out of me, especially guys like him (McPherson).”
MORE DOMINANCE
NIU carried its momentum through halftime, scoring the first 13 points of the second half.
Sophomore guard Quentin Jones contributed 13 points in the second half. Jones leads the Huskies in points per game with 15.2.
Senior guard James Dent Jr. scored 9 of his 17 points in the second half as he reached the 15-point mark for the third-straight game.
ROUGH REBOUNDING
One of NIU’s few weaknesses was on the boards where the Eagles out-rebounded the Huskies 44-37. Benedictine grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, doubling NIU’s total of 8.
They (Benedictine) got 16 offensive rebounds. That’s a lack of focus and toughness,” Burno said.
Burno stressed the importance of improving rebounding against their next opponent – the University of Northern Iowa.
“That team (Northern Iowa) has tremendous size, and we have a lack of size,” Burno said. “When you’re small you got to play with a focus and an attention to details. And I thought we lost focus on that.”
UP NEXT
The Huskies return at 5 p.m. Saturday to face Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Live streaming will be available on ESPN+ and live stats will be found on SIDEARM Stats.
