The clock struck midnight in Cleveland today as NIU men’s basketball’s run in the MAC tournament came to an end at the hands of No. 8 seed Western Michigan, 71-54.

The Huskies (5-26, 3-13 MAC) got off to a strong start in the game, jumping out to a 7-2 run after a three-pointer from Aksel Bolin. That would be the Huskies’ largest lead of the game. NIU would hold sole possession of the lead until the 7:11 mark in the first half when Western Michigan’s Demetrius Ward connected on a three to make the score 21-18

The Huskies answered back to take the lead on consecutive layups by Antone Christian and Keith Gray.

After one made free throw by Western Michigan’s Brandon Pokley to tie the game at 22, the Broncos took the lead for good on a pair of made free throws by Flenard Whitfield at 24-22 with 5:29 remaining in the first half.

The Huskies shot 50 percent from the field in the first half. That dropped to 29 percent in the second half.

“It was an incredible first half by us,” said NIU coach Mark Montgomery. “But I thought Western Michigan wore us down in the second half. We needed our perimeter shots to fall, and unfortunately, they just didn’t go in, but I liked the energy and effort of my guys, especially for the first 25 minutes of the ballgame.”

Coming out of the half, the Huskies hung with the Broncos and found themselves down 39-37 after Christian dialed up another a three-pointer with 16:24 left.

After that, it was all Broncos. Western Michigan went on a 17-1 run over the next six minutes of play to make the score 56-38.

“We settled down a lot more in the second half,” said Western Michigan coach Steve Hawkins. “Our defense and our rebounding certainly picked up, and then our offense was able to get aggressive because of that. We were just a much more aggressive team in the second half.”

The key to the game for the Broncos was their advantage inside with Whitfield and Matt Stainbrook. In the paint, the Huskies could not stop the Broncos were outscored 28-16.

Western Michigan outrebounded NIU 39-26 and 14-7 on the offensive glass, allowing the team to score 16 second chance points.

Although the Huskies’ season is over, the MAC Tournament experience gives them something to build on looking ahead to next season.

“It gives us some confidence,” Montgomery said. “We know what it is like to be here now. You have to start somewhere, and winning that first game in the MAC Tournament was very important, not just for confidence, but for the whole program. Now we know what it takes to get here, and we have to get stronger and compete even harder.”