DeKALB — After two losses to start the season, the Huskies went into Friday night’s matchup against Coppin State University looking for their first victory.

With 20 minutes in the books, NIU is halfway there, owning a 37-29 lead over the Eagles at the break.

The Huskies jumped out to an early nine-point lead at 16-7 just over five minutes into the game. Junior forward Nathan Scott had five points in the early going, and redshirt senior forward Lacey James added two baskets for four points.

Coppin State came back to tie the game at 18-all with 9:38 to go before halftime, but the Huskies responded with a 10-2 run to push the lead back to 28-20 when sophomore guard Darius Beane canned a jumper with 5:46 to go.

The Huskies never traled in the first half and saw the biggest lead at 10 points.

Scott finished the half with 11 points and five rebounds, while Beane, who is seeing his first action of the season, added eight. Senior guard Eugene German, who came into the game averaging 22.5 points per game, only had one field goal in the first 14 minutes of the game, but finished the half with eight.