Three Huskies notched double-digit scoring figures to lead the NIU men’s basketball team to a 86-79 win over Indiana State Tuesday night.

Freshman Mike DiNunno and sophomore Darion “Jake” Anderson led their team at the Convocation Center, scoring 27 points each.

Both Huskies grabbed new career-highs for points scored in a game, and Anderson added another career-high in 3-point shots made, sinking four of his six attempts.

Along with their offensive contributions, both players dished out four assists throughout the game.

“Everyone needs a sidekick,” NIU head coach Ricardo Patton said of the pair’s efforts. “Jake (the lead scorer from last season) really needed a sidekick. It’s no different than Michael Jordan needing Scottie Pippen.”

Sophomore Sean Kowal rounded out the scoring, adding 10 points to the board.

Both Indiana State and NIU went head-to-head with relatively young rosters.

Six Sycamores made their collegiate debuts against the Huskies. This youth is something ISU head coach Kevin McKenna said contributed to his team’s 15 turnovers.

“You had two young teams going at each other,” McKenna said. “They had 15 assists and nine turnovers, and we had eight assists with 15 turnovers. That’s the game right there.”

Leading NIU’s assist category was freshman Bryan Hall, who found his teammates open five times on the night.

The unselfish play by the Huskies is something Hall’s teammate DiNunno described as team camaraderie.

“Coming into the game we had a really good team camaraderie,” Hall said. “All the pieces just started coming together.”

NIU ended the game going 26-62 from the field, and 11-20 from behind the arch.

The Huskies also won the battle on the boards, out-rebounding ISU 37-35 including 15 offensive boards compared to their seven.