DeKALB — The men’s basketball team didn’t make enough defensive stops in the second half, ultimately losing to the Chippewas 78-69 for its first Mid-American Conference loss of the 2018-19 season.

Huskies had a sloppy start, turning the ball over eight times in nearly eight minutes to allow Central Michigan to take a 19-6 lead with 11:22 left in the first half.

NIU finished the half with 11 giveaways, and the Chippewas scored 14 points off the Huskie turnovers.

“Our guys have to make better decisions with the ball,” Head Coach Mark Montgomery said. “They were soft 2-2-1 pressing us and some 1-2-2 pressure, and we were advancing the ball, but we made some bad decisions. We were just playing a little too fast. You can’t have 11 turnovers in the first half and expect good things to happen.”

The Huskies found their offensive rhythm midway through the first half after knocking down three of their first 10 field goal attempts.

Senior forward Levi Bradley notched seven points, and senior guard Dante Thorpe scored six to spark a 13-4 NIU run reducing the team’s deficit to 23-19 with 5:52 until halftime.

Bradley finished with 27 points on 11-21 shooting. It was his first 20-point game since NIU’s 92-72 Nov. 25 victory against Oakland University.

“We thought [Bradley] was what our advantage was, and he definitely delivered with the 27 points,” Montgomery said. “I just thought they weren’t doubling him. At first, we were just moving too fast where we couldn’t get into a play. It seemed like we would take a quick shot, and you can’t get your post players going. We just have to have a little more patience on offense.”

Central Michigan scored seven unanswered points before the Huskies outscored the Chippewas 8-1 to close out the half, trailing 31-27.

The Huskies allowed Central Michigan to connect on 61.9 percent of its field goal attempts and 64.3 percent of its 3-point attempts in the second-half. The Chippewas’ 47 points in the second-half are the most NIU has conceded this season.

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“[The Chippewas] shot 60 plus percent in the second half,” senior Bradley said. “It’s almost impossible to beat any Division I team if you let them shoot 60 percent, especially at home. That’s just not acceptable. Defense cost us this game.”

Both teams shot below 40 percent from the field in the opening half, a stark contrast to NIU and Central Michigan’s offensive performances going forward with both teams shooting 50 percent or higher in the second half.

The Huskies came out of the break scoring four consecutive points, and tying the game at 31 with 18:58 left in the game after junior guard Eugene German’s lay-up. German finished the game with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists on 5-13 shooting.

Central Michigan responded by outscoring NIU 13-2 on the back of three 3-pointers to go up 44-33.

The Huskies responded with eight unanswered points to bring their deficit down to three. The Chippewas’ lead didn’t grow larger than six for the following 10 minutes of gameplay.

Senior forward Lacey James converted a lay-up to bring NIU’s deficit to 66-65 with 4:23 left in the game.

Central Michigan junior guard Kevin McKay missed a 3-point attempt on the next possession, and James nabbed the rebound to give the Huskies the ball with a chance to take their first lead of the game.

NIU swung the ball to sophomore guard Gairges Daow in the left corner for an open 3-point attempt, but the shot didn’t go in. Daow fouled Central Michigan first-year forward Rob Montgomery on the other end to send him to the line.

Related: Q & A with Coach Montgomery

 

Montgomery knocked down a pair of free throws that sparked a 12-4 run to close out the game and claim the victory for the Chippewas.

“We just have to play defense better, that’s all it is,” Bradley said. “We know the key to success is defense and if we want to compete for anything we have to lockdown, especially at home.”

The Huskies, with a 10-7 and 3-1 Mid-American record, will face off against Kent State 6 p.m. Saturday in Kent, Ohio. The game will be a rematch of the teams’ March 5 MAC tournament match-up, a game Kent State won 61-59 after a game clinching lay-up.

“I know we have a sour taste in our mouth from losing to them in the MAC tournament last year,” Montgomery said. “I know they have Jaylin Walker, one of the top scorers in the league. It’s going to be a typical MAC game where you have to play good basketball to beat a good Kent State team. They had two huge wins in non-conference against Vanderbilt and Oregon State. We know they’re one of the better teams in the league, and we’re going to have to come and play.”