Streaks were smashed Sunday afternoon when the NIU men’s basketball team grabbed a much needed win over Akron.

The Huskies pulled off a 83-79 win over the Zips to end a six-game losing skid, as well as

Akron’s seven-game winning streak. With the win, NIU (7-16 overall, 3-8 MAC) saved themselves

from losing to every MAC East opponent, and kept the Zips (16-9, 7-4) from running over each

MAC West foe.

Sophomore Darion ‘Jake’ Anderson led the team with a double-double, scoring 24 points and

pulling down 10 rebounds. The guard said a weight has been taken off the team’s shoulders after

snapping their losing streak.

“Especially with a win like this, a lot of weight comes off of us,” Anderson said. “But we know

that we are not where we want to be. We just want to build on this as much as we can. This is the best time of the year to play your best basketball, so when we go into the [MAC] tournament, we want to have another game like this.”

The Huskies opened the game with a 12-2 run, and never fell behind. Six of the team’s first seven

points came from the hands of freshman Tyler Storm, who recently replaced senior Sean Smith in the starting line-up. Storm has started the last five contests, but prior to Sunday’s game, the guard only scored a total of six points in four games. Against Akron, Storm went 4-6 from the

field, and 2-4 from behind the arc. He ended the game with 13 points and two rebounds.

“Starting the game by knocking down a couple of shots really helps,” Storm said about his transition into a starting role. “I know that I have the confidence of coach, so that helps my confidence too.”

NIU led by as much as 19 points in the first half, before going into the locker room with a 46-34 lead. The 46-point tally has been the highest Huskie halftime score this season.

“They came out and played hard,” said Akron head coach Keith Dambrot. “They punched us in the mouth and we didn’t respond. I don’t know why their record is what it is, because they came out and played us just as hard as anyone.”

To start the second half, NIU came out with a 7-0 run, only to have it answered by a 16-0 run from the Zips. Still, the Huskies never fell below the Zips, even after Akron tied the game up with

1:30 to play. Stepping up for his team, Anderson hit five consecutive free-throws down the stretch, to not only re-gain the lead, but to also give fans in the student section free tickets to the

upcoming T.I. and Ludacris concert. With 48 seconds left, the guard hit a free throw to tally the magic number of 78 to give the students their prize.