Central Michigan center Chris Kaman was able to make his presence felt as he scored 19 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and swatted five shots, all game-highs as the Chippewas clinched the MAC Title 73-57.

On Feb. 22, Kaman managed just six points and eight rebounds because of foul trouble. On Wednesday, he didn’t pick up a foul until the second half.

The Huskies (15-12, 11-6 MAC) had a chance to claim the No. 1 seed in the MAC with a lot of help, but fell to the Chippewas for the second time in 11 days.

“Central’s a really good team,” NIU coach Rob Judson said. “Hats off to them on winning the division.”

NIU claims the fourth seed in the MAC, but still can earn the third seed with a win on Saturday against Western Michigan (2:05 p.m. at the Convocation Center) accompanied by either losses by both Kent State and Miami (Ohio), or a win by Miami and a Kent State loss.

If NIU, KSU and Miami all lose, or all win, NIU will claim the fourth seed. NIU still can lose and claim the third seed if Miami wins and Kent State loses.

The Huskies committed 22 turnovers and shot 43.8 percent from the floor. CMU, which shot 20-of-22 from the free-throw line in the last meeting, was 19-of-21 from the foul line in the rematch.

Freshman swingman Todd Peterson led the Huskies with 15 points coming off five three-pointers. Marcus Smallwood and Jay Bates both scored 12 points.

Senior guard J.R. Wallace showed that his 27 points against NIU last time was no fluke as he chipped in 19 points.

“They made good outside shots,” Judson added. “Kaman was good inside and we turned the ball over way too many times against them both times.”