The NIU men’s basketball team returned home from its southern road trip splitting its two games.

The Huskies dropped their regular season opener 77-64 at the hands of Maine Friday evening in Kennesaw, Ga. NIU then bounced back to defeat Western Illinois 65-54 in the consolation round of the 100 Club Classic Saturday.

Mike DiNunno averaged 21 points and three rebounds in the two games and was named to the all-tournament team. The freshman led the team with 23 points Friday against Maine.

DiNunno was not the only first-year player to shine in his debut, as Maine’s Gerald McLemore poured in 24 points for the Black Bears.

“They felt like quiet points,” DiNunno said. “I just let everything come from within the offense. But I’d definitely trade a great individual effort in for a 2-0 record any day.”

NIU head coach Ricardo Patton commented on the help that DiNunno received from his teammates. Guard Jeremy Landers had a game-high six assists, while Sean Kowal poured in 12 points and five rebounds.

“His teammates did a nice job looking for him,” Patton said. “It was a total team effort.”

NIU (1-1) turned from Friday’s loss to earn its first victory over Western Illinois on Saturday. Three Huskies scored in double figures. DiNunno finished with 19 points and six rebounds. Darion “Jake” Anderson scored 17 for NIU, 15 of which came in the first half. Kowal added to the double-figure scoring trio with 12 points of his own.

“The guys definitely came back in the second game and played a lot harder,” Patton said. “I thought they played well, other than the fact that we didn’t shoot free-throws like we wanted to.”

The Huskies shot 52 percent from the field and held WIU to just 36 percent shooting. NIU struggled from the free throw line, however, shooting 58 percent.

“We came out a lot more fired up on the defensive end,” DiNunno said. “The first game prepared us. It was something we needed.”

Patton rates the games as an overall good weekend, but mentions that there are still improvements that need to be made.

“It’s a positive step, but we still have a long way to go before we’re the team that we want to become,” Patton said.