Men’s basketball loses to Eastern Michigan, breaks NCAA records

By Brian Earle

It’s hard to win a game when you can’t score, and men’s basketball found that out against Eastern Michigan on Saturday.

Despite allowing only 42 points, the Huskies (4-14, 2-4 MAC) still fell to the Eagles (10-10, 3-3 MAC), 42-25. On their way to scoring 25 points, the Huskies managed to set four NCAA records–not necessarily in a good way.

The Huskies took a 2-0 lead on a jumper from sophomore wing Abdel Nader. That would be their only lead of the game and the only field goal they would make in the half.

From that point on, the Eagles went on an 18-2 run to close out the half leading 18-4. The four points scored by the Huskies earned them a NCAA record for fewest points scored in a half. That breaks the record previously held by the Huskies, made when they scored five points in a half against Dayton earlier this season.

NIU avoided setting the lowest point total in NCAA history when it scored 21 points in the second half, finishing with 25. The NCAA record for the fewest points scored in a game is 20 and was set by Saint Louis University in 2008.

The Huskies could not put the ball in the basket as they went 8 for 61 from the field, shooting 13 percent. That is an NCAA record for the lowest field-goal percentage in a game.

NIU was not much better from behind the 3-point line, as they went 1 for 33 and shot 3 percent. Their lone 3-point field goal came from freshman guard Daveon Balls.

“Our guys played hard,” said coach Mark Montgomery. “Unfortunately, we just couldn’t make a shot. We just needed someone to make a basket to get our team going, but I wouldn’t say that we were taking bad shots. We had makeable, open shots, they just wouldn’t go in, but our guys kept defending, kept playing hard.”