DeKALB – In the early hours of Saturday morning, NIU men’s basketball head coach Rashon Burno got the news that junior forward Ethan Butler would be unavailable for the team’s game against Ball State University later that day.
The University of Oregon transfer had come down with an illness, leaving NIU without a key member of its starting lineup. Needing a replacement on short notice, the coaching staff turned to sophomore guard Nasir Muhammad to fill the void.
Upon learning he would be making his third career start, the Brooklyn, New York native focused on “just staying ready, so I don’t have to get ready.”
And for the 37 minutes Muhammad spent on the court, he certainly looked ready.
Muhammad’s five 3-pointers, combined with double-doubles from senior guard James Dent Jr. and junior guard Quaran McPherson, were the driving forces in NIU’s 76-66 victory as the Huskies (5-14, 1-6 MAC) defeated the Cardinals (9-10, 3-4 MAC) inside the Convocation Center to close out a doubleheader with women’s basketball celebrating NIU Athletics’ 125th anniversary.
The victory marks NIU’s first triumph over Ball State since the 2022-23 season. But more importantly, it serves as NIU’s first win of the calendar year and its first against a conference opponent this season.
“It’s about time,” Dent said. “We needed it.”
The Huskies landed 13 shots from beyond the arc, putting them one shy of tying the school record. They led for 37 minutes and 20 seconds of a 40-minute game. Burno called it NIU’s first complete game in a long time.
“You can’t get that done if you don’t do it with a team,” Burno said. “I thought these guys had the right intentions on both sides of the ball … We had really good floor balance; we had four guys in doubles; but the energy and the focus, the details had to be the best we’ve had all year.”
NIU finished with four scorers in double-digits, while Ball State had five. Muhammad led with 19 points – two points shy of matching his career-high. Dent and McPherson each posted 18 points and 10 rebounds as the former earned his first double-double in an NIU uniform. Sophomore guard Quentin Jones contributed 11 points and a game-high six assists.
The game also attracted NIU’s largest home crowd of the season as 2,565 spectators – including a sizable contingent of Cardinal faithful – roared with excitement in the big moments.
“We fed off that,” Muhammad said. “It gave us energy just to go down, get a stop and then come back down to try to get a bucket.”
Ball State got the scoring started with a quick 3-pointer by junior guard Juanse Gorosito 68 seconds into the game, which Muhammad answered with his own triple – and the first of many. Cardinal senior center Payton Sparks then made a free throw to give the visitors a 4-3 lead, only for Dent to erase it with another downtown shot.
Jones later buried a triple to put NIU up 11-8 with 14:06 left in the first half. From then on, it was NIU’s lead to lose.
The Huskies continued to string together scores as they played keep-away with the Cardinals. When the buzzer sounded for halftime, NIU led 40-29 – a rarity for a team that had only achieved the feat five times heading into Saturday’s contest.
Determined to maintain momentum, the hosts fired off triple after triple coming out of the break, and the shots just kept falling. NIU shot 50% from the field and 55.6% from beyond the arc in the second half alone. The Huskies held their largest lead of the evening at the midway point of the second half, dominating 58-40 with 10:43 left to play.
With three-and-a-half minutes remaining, Muhammad sunk his fifth 3-pointer, tying his career-high. Jones also tried to get flashy with a dunk, only for the rim to reject him and send the ball careening out-of-bounds.
The Cardinals made their final contribution to the score with 12 seconds left in regulation, as graduate student guard Ethan Brittain-Watts connected from 3-point land to end the game with a 10-point margin.
With 12 games left in the regular season, NIU’s chances of making a postseason push are still bleak, but Burno hopes his team can build off the victory.
“We’re getting closer, but we have to stay the course,” Burno said. “That’s the message we’ve had all year – just keep pounding the rock, show up every day and give ourselves an opportunity to win a game.”
Following the win, NIU will stay home to host the MAC-leading University of Akron at 6 p.m. Tuesday inside the Convocation Center. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and aired on 94.9 WDKB. Live statistics will be available on SIDEARM Sports.