The new year has certainly been prosperous for Rob Judson’s squad, as they continued rolling with a 68-61 victory against host Ohio.

The Huskies (7-8 overall, 3-2 MAC) won their third consecutive game away from home, and had it not been for a last-second loss to Bowling Green, NIU would sit atop the MAC West standings. The Huskies’ three game sweep of their road stand marks the first time they accomplished that since the 1971-’72 season when they beat Southern Illinois, Bowling Green and Indiana State.

Junior guard Perry Smith had a team-high 16 points, and junior forward Marcus Smallwood registered his third straight double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds, eight of which were offensive.

Jay Bates was the only other Huskie to reach double-digits with 10 points. Rome Sanders added eight points and 10 rebounds.

The Huskies took advantage of the extra opportunities that Smallwood provided by cashing in with 22 second-chance points.

Although Ohio did commit 20 turnovers to NIU’s 17, the Bobcats outscored NIU 31-9 off of turnovers.

“Our effort on the boards on the offensive end made the difference,” Judson said. “Ohio scored 31 points off our turnovers, but we were able to balance that by scoring 22 points off the glass. Rome Sanders and Marcus Smallwood were just warriors on the boards, and you can’t overlook Todd Peterson’s job on Brandon Hunter either.”

Brandon Hunter, Ohio’s big gun, was contained as the pre-season All-MAC selection scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds. Due to foul trouble in the first half, Hunter was limited to only seven minutes and zero points, but he recovered in the second half.

NIU held the rebounding advantage 42-30, and in the second half the margin was 26-11.

Ohio got the game to within five points at 59-54 after a Hunter reverse dunk with 3:46 to play. But, the Bobcats didn’t connect on another field-goal attempt the rest of the game, and NIU preserved the victory by knocking down some key free-throws.

The win ended a six-game losing streak in Athens, which dates back to games prior to the Huskies joining the MAC in 1997-’98.

“What a team effort,” Judson said. “There’s no magic formula. We fought hard, and our kids are playing well. A week ago, we were staring 4-11 in the face. Who would’ve thought we’d win three in a row on the road? Coaches get too much credit when you win. Our kids are doing a great job on defense, with our rebounding, and with our effort.”