It was not a pretty sight Thursday night at Chick Evans Fieldhouse as NIU narrowly defeated a scrappy New Zealand National team 74-71.

The Kiwis finally succumbed when Byron Vaetoe’s three-point shot bounced off the back of the rim at the buzzer. Vaetoe, who led all scorers with 22, crumpled to the floor at midcourt in disbelief as the Huskies celebrated their exhibition win.

“We found a way to win it,” was all Huskie coach Jim Rosborough could say.

The Huskies fell behind for the first and only time with 3:08 left in the game on Byron Vaetoe’s layup and ensuing freethrow as he was fouled by Brett Andricks. But NIU freshman guard Donald Whiteside hit a 10-foot jumper at 2:55 putting the Huskies up for good at 69-68.

“I’d put a good portion of my salary on Donald Whiteside,” Rosborough said. “I want to adopt the kid.”

Whiteside finished with eight points on 3-of-4 field goal shooting, including a three-point bomb. Whiteside also helped clinch the game with :04 remaining when he grabbed a missed free throw by Kiwi guard Frank Mulvihill. The NIU freshman sank one of two free throws for the final point of the game.

“We finally looked like a basketball team,” New Zealand coach Bob Bishop said as Kiwi Tour ‘87 hit its seventh dead end in eight American cities.

Bishop, whose Kiwis were subjected to a full-court defense by NIU all night, made a proposal to the Huskies afterwards.

“We’d very much like to invite Northern Illinois down to New Zealand one of these days and, with two days preparation and a long plane trip, we’re gonna press them full court,” he said, smiling at Rosborough, with whom he associated at Iowa.

While the Huskie defense played a significant role in the outcome, it was two steals by New Zealand forward Glen Denham late in the second half that nearly took the game from NIU.

“We didn’t jump to the basketball,” Rosborough said in explaining the Huskies’ sloppy-looking play. “That was the worst thing we did tonight.”

Much of the Huskies’ ragged performance might be attributed to opening-night jitters. Rosborough singled out freshman forward Donnell Thomas, who’s first shot was an errant off-balance 17-footer.

“I asked Donnell Thomas after the game, ‘You can play a heckuva lot better than that can’t you?’ and he said, ‘Yeah, coach, I was nervous,'” Rosborough said. “Donnell Thomas—nervous. He’s been beat up by gangs and he’s nervous.”

Thomas had five points on the night as he shot 2-for-7 from the floor and 1-for-4 at the line. But he was not the only Huskie to struggle with his free-throw shooting. NIU went 9-for-22 from the foul line for a dismal 40.9 percent.

Ironically the Huskies shot .525 from the floor, led by senior forward Mike Grabner’s 7-for-8 shooting performance. The 6-foot-9 co-captain fouled out with 5:00 left after tallying 14 points.

Two other Huskies, senior Rodney Davis and sophomore Brett Andricks, scored 14 points to tie Grabner for NIU game honors. Davis buried a fall-away nine-footer with 0:37 left to put the Huskies up 73-70.

“We haven’t even run it,” Rosborough said, “but we’re going to run a baseline runner type of series that Indiana ran for Alford and we’re gonna run that for Rodney. I think if you get him in the basket area he’s got a great jump hook and he’s tough.”

Andricks’ pair of second-half three-pointers and 4-of-5 shooting might have solidified his starting spot next to Davis at guard.