DeKALB — Before NIU men’s basketball took the court on Tuesday night, they knew that they needed to find more success shooting from the field, and fast. 

Three days earlier, NIU (7-13, 3-6 MAC) put on their lowest scoring loss of the season, in a 58-53 loss against Ball State in Muncie, Indiana, shooting 34.6% from the field, and 14.3% from beyond the arc.

Head coach Rashon Burno expressed his discontent over the team’s poor shooting stretch.

“We came out of Ball State disappointed in our offensive execution,” Burno said.

By Tuesday, NIU improved its shooting, shooting 50% from the three and 50% from the field. The Huskies managed to complete their largest leading win against any Division 1 team this season, turning the team’s disappointment into immediate gratification.

“Tonight the ball went in the hole,” Burno said. “When we do that, I think we can be a complete team that’s going to be competitive down the stretch.” 

The game began with a solid start for the Huskies, who found themselves with a narrow 35-30 lead, led by sophomore guard Makhai Valentine’s 12 first-half points. 

“I just wanted to help my team as much as we can,” Valentine said. “Me shooting the ball is what they needed from me today so I just tried to keep my head up and just continue to shoot and drive.” 

The Huskies began to break away in the second half, scoring 50 points in the last 20 minutes. Freshman guard Dylan Docummun and Valentine shot a combined 50% from the field and 55% from deep to power the win. 

“We’ve had bad shooting nights in previous games,” Docommun said. “You just have to forget about it and keep shooting.You just have to trust the process.” 

UP NEXT

The Huskies will take on the undefeated Miami University Redhawks at 2:30 p.m Saturday in Oxford, Ohio. The game will be live on ESPN+, with stats available on StatBrodcast. 

‘We live in the moment,” Burno said. ‘The most important thing is to rest, hydrate, and start back over tomorrow.”