A trip to America’s 49th state resulted in a 1-2 road trip for the NIU men’s basketball team.

The Huskies (3-4) dropped a 79-58 decision Wednesday to Portland State. NIU then pulled out a 71-68 victory over Alaska-Anchorage on Friday.

The Huskies finished up their participation in the Great Alaska Shootout with a 71-67 loss to Western Carolina Saturday evening.

Darion “Jake” Anderson led the Huskies with 16 points Wednesday, but it was not enough to counter the Vikings. PSU shot 12-for-28 from 3-point range and forced 20 NIU turnovers.

“I was much more concerned about our 20 turnovers than anything else,” said NIU head coach Ricardo Patton. “Our turnovers led to lay-ups or dunks on the other end and that was the difference in the game.”

Phil Nelson and Andre Murray led the Vikings with 16 points each. Nelson went four-of-six from 3-point range, while Murray chipped in with four assists.

NIU turned it around in its win over Alaska-Anchorage. For the third time this season, Anderson led the Huskies with 25 points, while senior Sean Smith scored a career-high 19 points on 64 percent shooting, which included five treys.

NIU out-rebounded the Seawolves 39-31 and forced 13 turnovers on the defensive end.

“I thought our defense really kept us close in the game until our offense had a chance to come around,” Patton said.

Smith’s five three-pointers were uncharacteristic of the senior.

“I’m usually a mid-range shooter,” Smith said. “I never really shoot from the outside. My teammates did a good job getting me the ball. I got a couple of open looks and was feeling it.”

Another NIU player scored a career high in the Huskies loss to Western Carolina Saturday.

Sean Kowal scored 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting to accompany seven rebounds in the 71-67 loss. Anderson and Smith chipped in as well with 15 and 13 points, respectively.

The Huskies shot 40 percent from the field in the close contest, but turnovers prevented them from pulling out the victory.

“We made too many crucial mistakes down the stretch,” Patton said. “Young teams have to learn how to finish games, and the last four minutes are always crucial. We had far too many mistakes in the last four minutes and too many missed free throw opportunities.”