Men’s basketball (7-0, 0-0 MAC) continued its perfect start to the season, defeating Chicago State (3-5) in a dominant 80-58 win Wednesday night.

Defense continued to be a staple for the Huskies. The Cougars did not score until more than three minutes into the game and had another scoring drought that lasted four minutes soon after. Cougars junior forward Trayvon Palmer ended the drought on a pair of free throws with 13 minutes left in the half.

Freshman guard Marshawn Wilson provided a spark off the bench for the Huskies, scoring five points in 30 seconds and receiving a technical foul for staring down a Chicago State player after a dunk.

The Cougars used a full-court press defense to try to get the Huskies out of rhythm, but it was to no avail. NIU went into halftime with a 15-point lead, 39-24.

The Huskies opened up the second half with junior guard Aaric Armstead scoring eight points in just more than two minutes. Armstead led the team with 14 points. Sophomore center Marin Maric recorded his second career double-double, scoring 12 points on 5-6 shooting from the field and collecting 14 rebounds.

“[Maric is] an energy-type player,” said head coach Mark Montgomery. “I’ve coached a lot of them that don’t have the feel that Marin has. But he has a passion for the game, he communicates and he’s active. It’s a joy to watch.”

The Huskies shot 51.6 percent (33-64) for the game with 25 fast-break points.

“In practice, coach always wants us to push the ball more [and] make sure we get better shots in transition,” said freshman guard Laytwan Porter.

NIU held the Cougars to 30.5 percent (18-59) shooting for the game and scored 49 points in the paint to the Cougars’ 14. Its defense has been one of its biggest staples through its current winning streak.

“I thought our defense was exceptional at times,” Montgomery said. “Anytime you can be up 15 points at halftime that means you probably took care of the basketball, you defended well and you made some plays offensively. Credit the guys. After a long trip from Idaho, not much rest, they found a way to suck it up. We made sure on the defensive end that Chicago State never had a chance to make a big run and get back into the game.”

NIU will take on Missouri at 7 p.m. Friday in Columbia, Mo. with a chance to improve to 8-0.