What happened

It took overtime, but men’s basketball (14-15, 8-10 MAC) closed the regular season with a win over the Ball State Cardinals (7-22, 2-16 MAC), 71-67, Friday in Muncie, Ind. The win was the Huskies’ fourth in a row, a first this season. 

The Huskies will be the 10th seed in the MAC Tournament and will take on the seventh-seeded Akron Zips 6 p.m. Monday in Akron, Ohio.

How it happened

After the Cardinals used a 7-2 run to bring their lead to eight, the Huskies kept hanging around and were able to use an 8-2 run to trail only by two, 22-20, at the half. In the final seconds of the half, junior Travon Baker hit a layup from the lane to get NIU out of the teens. It was the first time Ball State led at the half in its last 10 games.

The second half was a different story as the Huskies used a 7-0 run to gain a 29-27 lead off a layup from junior Darrell Bowie at the 16:50 mark. Ball State clawed its way back into the lead, 36-35, off a 3-pointer from freshman Sean Sellers. With the game tied at 38-all, redshirt freshman Marin Maric used a four-point outburst to put NIU up with 9:07 left to play. 

The Huskies held the lead until Sellers hit a 3-pointer from the corner in the final seconds of the half to tie the game at 57-all and send it to overtime.

After the Cardinals pulled ahead to open overtime, 61-57, redshirt senior Anthony Johnson helped push the Huskies back into the lead with a trio of free throws and a 3-pointer. While Ball State was able to get back to three, the Huskies held them off as Baker iced the game with a free throw. 

All five starters scored in double-digits. Johnson had a team-high 18 points. Maric scored 11 points, while sophomore Aaric Armstead scored 10 points and had a pair of steals. Baker scored 12 and added four rebounds and three assists. 

The number: 43

That is the number of rebounds the Huskies picked up, 14 of which were offensive rebounds. They outrebounded the Cardinals, 43-27.

Northern Star players of the game:

Redshirt senior Jordan Threloff scored 13 points and was a force on the defensive glass, scooping up eight rebounds. He also added an offensive rebound to that total and turned that one into a put back basket.

Even though Sellers went just 4-12 from the field, he made his shots count, hitting the game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds of the second half. He also had seven rebounds and four assists.

The quotes:

“Anytime you can win your last game of the season it’s a plus,” said head coach Mark Montgomery. “Anytime it goes into overtime and you get the win it’s big. We made big plays under pressure.

“[Sellers] made a big 3 from the corner with a hand in his face; that’s just basketball. We got down in overtime and we made plays. Johnson made plays, Baker made plays, Threloff made plays. The guys responded great, because we won.”

The 43 rebounds show “what we’re capable of,” Montgomery said. “We used our size, experience, and depth. Offensive rebounding is about second or third chances. We got those.”