Beginning the Thanksgiving break with a win over Loyola at home on Wednesday, the Huskies followed up with a road loss to Valparaiso on Saturday. The loss against Valpo dropped NIU below .500 with a 2-3 mark.

NIU 69, Loyola 67

With his team shooting 47 percent from the free-throw line and committing 26 turnovers, NIU basketball coach Rob Judson never would have predicted a win against Loyola Friday at the Convocation Center.

But the Huskies pulled out a nail-biting 69-67 win.

“It’s about overcoming obstacles and setbacks,” NIU coach Rob Judson said. “In our pre-game meal, we had a saying next to everybody’s plate by Jerry Tarkanian (former Fresno State coach) that said the team with the most heart, effort and desire is the team that does the things that allow you to win the game.”

Loyola (1-2) started the game with the cards stacked against it, as starting center Demetrius Williams was out of the game serving a suspension for a fight on Nov. 25 against Bradley. Then, less than four minutes into the game, the Ramblers’ All-American candidate, point guard David Bailey, went out of the game with a hyper-extended right knee. Although Bailey came back shortly before halftime, he then requested to come out again and didn’t reappear.

After coming out of halftime with a 38-36 deficit, NIU saw 14 second-half lead changes and nine ties.

What proved vital in NIU’s eventual push ahead was its 54-26 rebounding edge, taking advantage of the 6-foot-9 Williams’ absence.

“It’s one thing to not have David and Demetrius … but they beat up on us pretty bad,” Loyola coach Larry Farmer said.

The high-scorer and rebounder in the game was NIU junior Marcus Smallwood with 19 points and 21 rebounds, which tied the most from a Huskie since Matt Nelson in 1997. Huskie freshman Rome Sanders contributed 17 points and 12 rebounds.

“We had to come over a lot of adversity,” said Smallwood, who shot 7-for-17 from the free-throw line. “We had really good motivation coming off of last Saturday (63-48 home-opening loss to DePaul). The rebounds just kept us in it. You can’t have a great shooting night every night.”

Valparaiso 78, NIU 67

Freshman guard Anthony Maestranzi did not play like a first-year player throughout the break.

After playing 30 minutes against Loyola with only three turnovers, the 5-foot-10 Bartlett native rang off 18 points with an NIU freshman single game record six three-pointers against Valparaiso (2-1).

Maestranzi’s effort, which also included two turnovers in 27 minutes of play, wasn’t enough as the Huskies fell by 11 on the road.

“We knew Anthony was a great three-point shooter, he was a good shooter in high school,” Judson said. “He just needs to get comfortable on the court and he certainly was comfortable tonight.”

Making all six of his attempts in the second half, he fell one shy of the school record for most three-pointers in a game, set by Donte Parker against Illinois-Chicago (Jan. 13, 1996). If the 5-foot-10 guard nails his next three-pointer, he would tie the season mark set by Parker and Marcus Coty.

Maestranzi’s third three-pointer cut the lead to eight with 11:57 left in the game, but the Crusaders went on an 11-4 run and NIU never recovered.

Jamel Staten pitched in for NIU with 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists.