The chances of a run in the MAC tournament have gotten a little tougher for the NIU men’s basketball team.

Sophomore guard Ben Rand will miss the rest of the season after tearing his right ACL ligament in Sunday’s game against Eastern Michigan.

Rand was helped off the court by teammate Todd Peterson and a trainer after going down with the injury in the second half of the Huskies’ 94-61 victory over the Eagles.

“We feel bad for Ben because his consistent play has been a real benefit to our team the last several games,” NIU coach Rob Judson said. “It’s unfortunate, but we’re hopeful that he’ll recover quickly.”

Rand, who is a transfer from Iowa and a Rochelle native, averaged 7.7 points and shot 56.4 percent from the field in 25 games and made eight starts this season with the Huskies, his first.

Rand sat out all of last season due to NCAA regulations for transfer students.

The status of the sophomore’s condition was not known immediately after the game, but further evaluation of Rand’s knee Monday concluded that the injury was season-ending.

The Huskies (15-10 overall, 10-6 MAC) co-lead the MAC West with Western Michigan and are vying for their first division title.

The Huskies will wrap up their regular season with a trip to Kalamazoo, Mich. where they will face WMU (13-14, 6-10) in what could be the deciding game for the division.