DeKALB — Winter hasn’t officially arrived yet, but you wouldn’t know it based on DeKalb’s latest weather.
Outside the Convocation Center on Tuesday night, the season’s chill was in full swing, with snow blanketing the ground and frigid, hand-numbing temperatures lingering. And inside, NIU’s men’s basketball team didn’t do much to warm things up, turning in one of its coldest performances of the season.
The Huskies (3-5) were beaten in virtually every metric as they suffered their second straight defeat in a lopsided 99-64 loss to Lindenwood. NIU held the lead for just 1 minute and 32 seconds before the visiting Lions (4-4) seized control behind 50.7% shooting, a 50-rebound effort, a largest lead of 38 points and six players scoring in double figures. The 35-point margin marks NIU’s largest defeat since a 108-70 demolition at Ohio on Jan. 11.
Head coach Rashon Burno didn’t mince words postgame, opening with a blunt assessment: “Just dreadful.”
“From start to finish, we didn’t execute the gameplan,” Burno said. “Transition defense, rebounding and keeping these guys out of the paint, making them take tough twos. I think they started (making) five of their first eight (shots), and we had five turnovers at the first TV timeout. From there, we were on our heels the entire night. They outworked us, they were physical — more than we were.”
NIU couldn’t pump the brakes on Lindenwood’s high-scoring offense. Lions guard Clayton Jackson scored a career-high 21 points off the bench, shooting 8-for-9 from the free-throw line, and Dontrez Williams poured in 20 points. Jadis Jones and Robert Lewis each achieved double-doubles, with Jones logging 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds while Lewis notched 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Meanwhile, NIU sophomore guard Makhai Valentine led the Huskies’ losing effort with 17 points and two steals while going 3-for-5 from deep. Freshman big Gustav Winther added 15 points on 63.6% shooting, and junior guard Daemar Kelly tacked on 13 points, most coming off his trio of 3-pointers.
Winther got the scoring started with a layup 18 seconds in, only for the Lions to score 19 of the game’s next 23 points and take an early lead. NIU especially struggled from the field, managing just 4-of-18 (22%) shooting at one point. The Huskies finished the half 10-of-26 and committed 10 turnovers to Lindenwood’s four, leaving them down 52-32 at the break.
“Mentally, I feel like we weren’t there to start the game today,” Valentine said. “Lack of focus, lack of attention to details, and we were out-toughed. That’s pretty much what it was today.”
After halftime, the Huskies briefly cut their deficit to 18, but Lindenwood quickly ran away with an ever-growing lead to put the game out of reach. The Lions took their largest lead of the night with 3:17 left, when Williams buried a layup to make it a 95-57 ballgame.
NIU finished shooting 21-of-58 (36.2%) from the field, 7-for-21 (33.3%) from beyond the arc and 15-for-30 (50%) on free throws. The Huskies also managed to come away without any injuries, though that was one of few positives Burno could find in Tuesday’s performance.
“When you get your butt kicked the way we did — I may feel different tomorrow after I watch film all night tonight — but I don’t see any bright spots other than being able to get Isaiah Washington and guys who have been good for us in practice, giving them some game time,” Burno said. “But collectively, I don’t see anything that I want to feel good about.”
