NIU men’s golf moved up one spot to finish in ninth place at the Pinetree Intercollegiate on Tuesday.

Sophomore Nick Huggins claimed a top 25 finish as the Huskies completed their fall schedule. The Huskies posted a final round of 302, which was the fourth-best round in the field.

“It was a good way to end the fall season with one of our better rounds on a very good golf course, a very hard golf course,” said NIU head coach Tom Porten in a press release. “The greens were very similar to the way they have been the last few days, very fast with some nasty hole locations, which is why the scores went up for most of the field.”

Huggins shot a 77 in the third round, which tied him for 23rd. Huggins moved up seven places in the third round after beginning the day in a tie for 30th.

“We took a more conservative approach today,” Porten said in a news release. “We tried to give ourselves more chances and I was pleased with what we did across the board. Griffin [Bauman] in particular had a strong day. Yesterday, he had a tough day chipping around the greens, but today he hit more greens, so he didn’t have to worry about those shots from just off the green.”

Bauman, a senior, had the best final round for the Huskies, carding a 73 to finish in a tie for 27th, moving up 23 positions after opening the day in a tie for 50th.

Junior Shawn Foley and sophomore Nick Schiavi both shot a 76. Foley posted a 54-hole total of 233 to finish tied for 43rd while Schiavi’s three-round total of 238 which was good enough for a tie for 52nd.

The host, Kennesaw State, stayed in first, as they shot a final round of 289 to finish the tournament with a four-under par, total of 860. They finished 24 shots ahead of fellow MAC team Ball State, who shot a total of 884.

Kennesaw State’s Jimmy Beck shot an even-par final round of 72 to win individual play with a three-round total score of 209 (-7).

Kennesaw State took the first three spots, as Ben Greene also shot a third round of 72, giving him a three-round total of 215 (-1) and second place. Sam Curtis shot a 70 in round-three, tying him for third place with Ball State’s Tyler Merkel at 219 (+3).

The Pinetree Intercollegiate concluded fall play for the Huskies. NIU returns to competitive action at the Mid-American Match Play in Lake Jovita, Fla., on Feb. 11 and Feb. 12.