Al Sewasciuk’s desperation three-point attempt with .6 seconds left in the game fell short, giving the NIU men’s basketball team its first conference road loss this season, 59-56 at Miami (Ohio).

NIU (14-11, 10-5 MAC) lost its second consecutive conference game despite getting 20 points from guard Perry Smith and 18 from Sewasciuk. The two combined to hit 10 three-pointers.

NIU was 10-of-20 from behind the three-point arc.

At halftime, the Huskies were having trouble against the league’s top defense and were down 30-22. NIU then went on to open the second half on a 20-6 run.

With 6:17 left, NIU enjoyed its largest lead of eight points, 49-41, on a Mike Morrison layup. Miami (13-11, 11-4 MAC) then went on to outscore the Huskies 18-7 to end the game. Coach Charlie Coles’ RedHawks are now in first place overall in the MAC.

“We played very hard in the second 20 minutes,” NIU coach Rob Judson said. “I am terrifically upset. We didn’t get a lot of breaks in the second half. Miami is a good team. I’m upset at the way it finished out.”

The Huskies lost their ninth straight game at Millett Hall, where they haven’t won since Feb. 21, 1981.

Miami guard Chet Mason led the way with 16 points and nine rebounds. Fellow RedHawks guard Juby Johnson scored 11 points and was 4-of-4 from the free-throw line in the final minute.

Miami junior forward Gene Seals added 10 points. He got the starting nod in place of sophomore forward Danny Horace who sat out the first game of his two-game suspension for throwing a punch at Buffalo’s B.J. Walker during Miami’s 63-35 win on Saturday.

“Miami dictated the pace and imposed their will on us and we turned that around in the second half,” Judson said. “We took away their offense and really attacked them. Charlie’s team made some big plays in the final two minutes.”

Huskie forward Marcus Smallwood scored six points, ending his streak of 14 straight games in double-digits. The last time he failed to reach 10 points was on Dec. 28 against Illinois-Chicago when he tallied eight points.

The Huskies took care of the basketball with only nine turnovers, tying a season-best mark set on Feb. 11 against Ohio.

Also, for the second straight game NIU was outrebounded by its opponent, 32-26. Before Saturday’s game against CMU, the Huskies were only outrebounded once in their prior 13 contests.

NIU remains a game behind Central Michigan who fell at home to Akron 70-69 Tuesday night. Kent State was defeated at Marshall, 80-67, on Tuesday, to drop to third place overall in the MAC.