Two regular season home games. Two games that went down to the end. Two last-second losses for the NIU men’s basketball team.

The Huskies (1-3) have fallen just short at the Convocation Center this season.

At 2:05 p.m. Saturday against Akron (3-1), NIU coach Rob Judson wants to change that. It will be NIU’s MAC opener.

“We just have to learn to finish games,” the fourth-year coach said. “They need to realize the importance of every possession. But I tell you what, our boys sure do fight.”

Against Southwest Missouri State Nov. 24, NIU fell to a last-second jump shot. Wednesday night, the Huskies took Bradley to overtime but still couldn’t pull it out as Anthony Maestranzi’s buzzer-beater from just inside half-court clanged off the rim.

The Zips have won three in a row since dropping their season opener and are the second-highest scoring team in the MAC at 81.7 points per game.

Akron’s Jeremiah Wood leads the team in both points and rebounds per game and will be a big area of concentration for NIU.

But what caught Judson’s attention was the Zips’ defense.

Akron never lets up on its defensive pressure, using a variety of traps and presses to take opposing teams out of their rhythm, Judson said.

“It will be very critical for us to take care of the ball,” Judson said. “With how disruptive they can be on defense, we must play smart.”

NIU’s Paige Paulsen will continue to start, despite playing with a brace on his thumb. He had 19 points against DePaul but played only 17 minutes against Bradley because of foul trouble and had five points.

“The last two games Paige has played, he’s just shown such a gutty performance,” Judson said. “He’s playing through a lot of pain right now, but he is still producing on the court.”