DeKALB | The light shining in the darkness for the NIU men’s basketball team wasn’t just posting a rare win on Wednesday against Bowling Green.

Senior guard Mike McKinney hit a free throw with 5:32 left in the game to become the 26th Huskie to score 1,000 points in a career.

“It is honor and a blessing to score to be a part of any elite group,” the Evanston native said. “It definitely feels good.”

Even though McKinney was held to seven points – six below his team-leading average of 13.4 – he still was an intricate part of a concentrated defensive effort.

Coach Rob Judson said McKinney and Zach Pancratz were instrumental in holding the MAC’s leading scorer, Martin Samarco, to eight points.

McKinney said NIU relied on its defense in the form of timely steals and defensive stops that translated into easy offense and were the key to the eight-game losing streak going by the wayside.

The maturation of McKinney has often been discussed at press conferences, and the moment wasn’t lost on the senior guard.

“The win feels better than the 1,000 points,” McKinney said.

Judson has said repeatedly his team will remain very near-sighted, focused on the next practice and possession, rather than being overwhelmed by looking at long-term prospectus.

The late-season hot streak that Toledo rode to last season’s MAC Title game berth has to be lodged somewhere in the back of everyone’s mind.

With seven games left in the regular season, six straight MAC wins would place NIU at 8-8 headed into the postseason MAC tournament.

“We got a lot of confidence from this win tonight,” McKinney said. “We want to get going and enter the MAC tournament on a roll.”