The NIU men’s basketball team could do no wrong Saturday at the Convocation Center. At least it seemed that way to Western Michigan coach Steve Hawkins, as NIU rolled to a 86-60 win in front of 2,612 fans.

“I thought NIU played a terrific ball game,” Hawkins said. “They just had one of those games where everything goes in.”

The win gives NIU (13-7, 8-4) a two-game edge over WMU in the MAC West. NIU connected on 60 percent of its shots from the field and hit a torrid 56 percent from the three-point range.

NIU coach Rob Judson said his team will stay focused and that any talk about ‘March Madness’ is premature.

“It is way too early to countdown,” Judson said. “We are going to remain focused on the next game.”

It is the first four-game winning streak of the year for NIU and four players scored in double figures. Judson was effusive in his praise of the offensive balance his team employed.

“The reason for the team’s success is the wholeness of the group,” Judson said. “We have interchangeable parts, and lots of different people that can score every night.”

Ryan Paradise (15 points) got NIU going in the first half by shooting a perfect 5 for 5 on three pointers. The sophomore guard hit a high-arcing three pointer to extend the NIU lead to a first-half high 16 points at 40-24.

“Their defense sagged in the post, and I got a couple of early looks,” Paradise said.

NIU poured it on in the second half, as Mike McKinney and Ben Rand joined the ranks of double-digit NIU scorers. Cory Sims posted a strong effort with eight points and an NIU season-high nine assists.

Hawkins said offensive diversity makes NIU a tough team to plan for.

“It is real difficult to prepare for NIU,” Hawkins said. “We usually go into a game to take away what two or three kids can do, [NIU] makes it a difficult situation because you can’t key on one guy.”