Joshua Cribbs led Kent State to a 44-34 win over the NIU football team Saturday.

The freshman quarterback was 12-for-21 for 196 yards and one touchdown pass, and ran for 97 yards on 24 attempts in the Golden Flashes’ first conference win of the year.

“Cribbs is a good player,” NIU coach Joe Novak said. “We didn’t make him make mistakes. We just didn’t get it done on defense.”

The Huskies (2-4 overall, 0-3 Mid-American Conference) lost for the third week in a row, while Kent State (2-4, 1-2) ended a three-game losing streak of its own.

The Flashes, who were down 34-27 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, scored 17 points in the final quarter to take the win away from the Huskies. Mikal Lundy scored on a three-yard run with 5:16 remaining in the fourth quarter to break a 34-34 tie.

The Huskies had the chance to take the lead, but a fumble on fourth and nine at the Flashes’ 36-yard line ended the Huskies’ chances.

Kent State took the ball 44 yards in eight plays, as Dave Pavich hit a 26-yard field goal to take the 44-34 lead with 1:06 remaining in the game.

“We really played poorly on defense today. We had too many missed tackles,” Novak said. “If we score 30 points, I think we should win the football game, and we didn’t do that today.”

The Huskies got on the scoreboard first when Chris Finlen hooked up with P.J. Fleck for a four-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. The Flashes quickly responded with a Cribbs 29-yard touchdown pass to Jurron Kelly to tie the game at seven.

Michael Turner then returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards to give NIU the 14-7 lead. Cribbs scored on a 17-yard scamper, but Finlen responded with a touchdown run of his own, a 38-yard run to give the Huskies the 21-14 lead. Pavich hit a 42-yard field goal to cut NIU’s lead to four, 21-17 after the first quarter.

Steve Azar gave the Huskies their lone score of the second quarter after hitting a 21-yard field goal, giving NIU a 24-17 lead.

David Alston scored on a three-yard run to tie the game at 24, and Pavich hit a 49-yard field goal with 35 seconds remaining in the half to give the Golden Flashes the 27-24 halftime lead.

On the opening drive of the second half, Turner scored his second touchdown of the game on a one-yard run to give the Huskies the 31-27 lead, and Azar hit a 23-yard field goal as the Huskies held a 34-27 lead.

“We moved the ball well on offense, but we just didn’t score enough points,” Novak said. “The first quarter was like a track meet. They just kept scoring after that. They ran the ball at us well, and were able to handle us up front.”

The rushing game continued to take a nose dive, as junior tailback Thomas Hammock rushed for 43 yards on 16 carries, and Michael Turner rushed for 37 yards on eight carries. It is Hammock’s third game he hasn’t rushed for over 100 yards. In the last three games, Hammock has rushed for 120 yards.

Finlen completed 19 of 36 attempts for 250 yards and one touchdown. The senior quarterback became the first Huskie player in history to throw for 1,000 yards in four separate seasons. P.J. Fleck led the Huskies with 130 yards on eight catches and Keith Perry caught four receptions for 53 yards.

Alston led the Golden Flashes with 141 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. Kent State finished the game with 503 total yards, 307 on the ground.

Diamondbacks 2, Cardinals 1