“Home Sweet Home” has rarely been sweeter for the NIU men’s basketball team.

Monday night was “Senior Appreciation Night” as NIU’s seniors performed in front of 3,589 fans in the last regular-season game of their careers at the Chick Evans Field House.

The Huskies carried the emotion of the evening into the game and performed with an air of carefree confidence in their 75-62 victory over Akron.

“This was our last game at the field house and we wanted to have fun and do what we had to do,” said senior forward Donnell Thomas. “We wanted to give the fans something to remember us by.”

“Our ultimate goal was to go down as a team to be remembered,” said senior guard Donald Whiteside. “We really wanted to win tonight.”

Senior forward Andrew Wells also expressed his feelings on the evening.

“We all started playing (at NIU) in the same year, and to win the conference together makes it even more special,” said Wells.

The victory was especially sweet because the Huskies (22-4) also broke the school record for regular-season wins, and clinched at least a tie for the Mid-Continent Conference regular-season title.

According to the Huskies, this successful season would not have been possible without the fan support that NIU received. NIU’s seniors, along with NIU head coach Jim Molinari, thanked the fans after the game Monday.

“It was coach ‘Mo’s’ idea to talk to the fans,” said Whiteside. “We wanted to give the fans a personal thanks.”

“I can read hearts pretty well and these kids all have good hearts,” said Molinari. “They have all made the sacrifices and they have put the team first. I thank the good Lord that I can work with these guys. These five seniors will represent NIU well.

“NIU has struggled with tradition, but we are now building a tradition. All the people who were here tonight will remember this night for a very long time,” Molinari said.