Ernie Banks loved the game of baseball so much his catch phrase became “let’s play two.”

If it were up to Mr. Cub, he’d play a double-header everyday.

If it is up to NIU men’s basketball coach Rob Judson, the Huskies will make it two wins in a row when they head to Athens for a 2 p.m. Saturday showdown with Ohio.

It will be only the third time this season NIU (5-17, 2-8) will attempt to piece together a winning streak. It will be no easy task, as Ohio (16-7, 7-3) is in second place in the rugged MAC East, and has won three straight games.

NIU opened the season 3-0, and then proceeded to lose 17 of 18 games before they finally shook the losing skid monkey from their back with a win over Bowling Green on Wednesday.

“The win felt good,” Judson said. “We want to continue that feeling. The key was that we didn’t allow a big run, we continued to play good defense and got five or six defensive stops in a row.”

NIU senior center James Hughes came off the bench against BGSU to lead NIU with 14 points.

A starter most of the season, Hughes’ self-suggested move to a reserve role has seen an increase in his overall numbers. Judson can’t explain why Hughes seems to be better off the bench, but said that he would “leave it alone.”

“I feel more relaxed coming off the bench,” Hughes said. “I’d agree with coach that I’ve been my best coming off the bench. It seems like I have more energy in the second half.”

Junior forward Ben Rand dressed for the BGSU game, but did not see any action. Cody Yelder has returned from his knee injury, and played in two straight games.

“Ben has given us some energy at practice,” Judson said. “If you have a large can of WD-40 we could sure use it, because Ben is real rusty right now. But, I’m sure he’ll get some time before the season is over.”

NIU senior guard Mike McKinney leads the Huskies with 13.1 points per game. McKinney scored seven points against Bowling Green Wednesday, giving him 1,001 for his career.

Ohio is second in the MAC in scoring offense, and has five players scoring in double figures.

Sophomore forward Jerome Tillman leads the Bobcats with 16 points per game, while pulling down 8.5 rebounds per contest.