Men’s basketball (4-0. 0-0 MAC) extended its perfect start to the season in a 100-52 blowout win against Eureka Saturday.

The Huskies’ defense pressured the ball from the start of the game and forced early turnovers to create 12 fast break opportunities in the first half. NIU scored 22 points off of 12 Eureka turnovers in the first 20 minutes of play.

The Huskies grabbed an early double digit lead they never surrendered and headed into halftime ahead 58-25. The team shot 52.5 percent (21-40) at the half, and freshman guard Marshawn Wilson led the way with 14 of his career high 17 points.

NIU had its way on offense throughout the game. Eureka attempted to take away the Huskies’ low post presence by swarming players down low almost every time, but it didn’t prove to be a successful tactic.

Sophomore center Marin Maric scored seven of NIU’s first 12 points and finished the game with nine points on 4-5 shooting from the field. Freshman forward Jaylen Key added 12 points of his own, and freshman Levi Bradley shot 5-9 for 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds. The Huskies’ bench came up huge again, as it scored 62 of the team’s 100 points for the game.

“Any good team has a bench that’s capable of not just defending, but scoring the basketball,” said head coach Mark Montgomery. “Some of our better shooters come off the bench, and that can keep your run going. If you go back to the first game against Cal State Northridge, it was like a tie game, and then the bench got us up eight to 10 points. We want to make sure that we keep both teams. It doesn’t matter if you’re a starter or a bench player, … and I thought the bench gave us another boost today.”

Playing a Division III school could’ve made the Huskies play Eureka differently than they would any other opponent, Montgomery said, but it was important for his team to come out very focused in the game.

“Anytime you put up 58 points in the first half, take care of the ball, shoot a high percentage,” Montgomery said. “I thought the first five that was in made a statement and they dictated how the game was going to go.”

The Huskies held Eureka to 34 percent shooting (18-53) from the field and 20 percent (5-25) from the three point line for the game. It proved to be one of the team’s strongest defensive performances of the young season.

“Defensively we were trying to guard the ball better,” Montgomery said. “We try to limit teams to one shot and make sure that we block out and get the rebound. We try to rally to the ball if someone gets beat so your teammate has to have your teammate’s back. We’re contesting shots. We had hands up, and we did what we had to do.”

NIU scored 18 points off of 30 Eureka turnovers, 26 fast break points and 17 second chance points. It also dished out 32 assists and grabbed 43 rebounds.

The Huskies will be back in action this week as they face off agaist Indiana University Northwest at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Convocation Center.