After years of last-place finishes and rotting in the cellar of the MAC standings, men’s basketball had more than enough, resulting in the biggest single-season turnaround in NIU history.

With head coach Mark Montgomery at the helm, the Huskies won 15 games this season compared to five victories in each of the last two seasons. The 15 wins are the Huskies’ most W’s since going 17-11 in the 2005-2006 season.

The Huskies upped their play in the MAC as they won eight conference games this season after they picked up two W’s last season. The eight conference victories are the most for NIU since it won 12 conference games in the 2005-2006 season.

“It really felt good to change the culture and to have some success by winning some games,” Montgomery said. “I was proud of our guys, how hard they worked and the energy and effort they brought to every practice, and it ended up paying dividends in the games.”

The Huskies (15-17, 8-11 MAC) didn’t quite finish with a .500 record, but their record earned them the No. 7 seed in the MAC Tournament, which allowed them to host their first MAC Tournament game since 2003, which was one of the team’s goals.

In the first round, NIU beat Bowling Green, 54-51 in overtime, to accomplish another team goal: punching its ticket to Cleveland and advancing to the MAC Tournament’s second round.

The Huskies faced off against a familiar foe, Eastern Michigan, in Cleveland for the second round, which is where their special season came to an end, falling 53-48.

With many of the Huskies’ key players returning, on top of some strong additions, they look poised to have even more success next season.

“I think that we got a taste that we can play and we can compete with anyone in our conference,” Montgomery said.