With NIU’s Monday night battle against Eastern Illinois on the line, the Huskies won it at the line.

The Huskies’ (15-10) hot free-throw shooting down the stretch proved to be the straw that broke the Panthers’ back, as NIU scored its last 14 points at the charity stripe to pull out a 66-59 victory at Lantz Gym in Charleston, Ill.

Coach Jim Molinari’s troops hit 23 of 28 free-throws in the game, including a sizzling 21 out of 24 in the second half.

“It was a great victory,” said Molinari. “This is a tough place to play. Eastern Illinois played us physical and played us hard.”

“This was a team victory and that’s what it’s about. From Brian Banks who showed a good attitude on the bench, even though he didn’t play, to everyone who contributed.”

NIU’s Phil Leib, from nearby Flora, played in front of his own cheering section of family and friends among the 1,793 spectators. The Huskies only senior responded with an unexpected going-away present for his supporters by surpassing his career high of four points midway through the opening 20 minutes. Leib finished with a personal best 10 points.

NIU used balanced scoring in the opening half to build a 23-21 lead. Seven Huskies checked into the scoring column in the first half, led by Leib’s six points. The 6-4 swingman came into the contest averaging less than a point a game but scored three of NIU’s first five baskets.

“I’m really excited for Phil Leib. This is really meaningful for him,” Molinari said. “Phil did a great job and I’m happy for him. It’s like ‘Hoosiers'”.

The Panthers’ Barry Johnson did his best in the second half to make Leib’s and NIU’s version of “DeKalbians” have an unhappy ending. The 6-7 forward scored 21 of his 24 points in the final half.

Eastern Illinois built a 41-37 lead before Antwon Harmon’s two free-throws with under 10 minutes left in the game gave the Huskies the lead for good. Donald Whiteside extended NIU’s lead to 50-43 before two Panther baskets cut the Huskies’ lead to three at 50-47.

Donnell “D-Train” Thomas responded with a three-point play to give the Huskies a six-point cushion with under three minutes remaining. Johnson hit a three-point jumper with 1:06 left to bring the Panthers to within 58-52, but five different Huskies hit 14 of 16 free-throws in the final minutes to preserve NIU’s fourth road win.

Whiteside led the Huskies with 12 points followed by Donnell Thomas (11), Stacy Arrington (10) and Leib’s career-best 10 points.

The Huskies’ 5th nationally-ranked scoring defense held the Panthers to 25 of 38 shooting for the game.

“Our defense was outstanding again,” said Molinari. “They shot 40 percent for the game and that’s outstanding defense when you play a team at home.”