Not even the return of Matt Nelson from a freak injury could save the NIU men’s basketball team.

A 67-62 home loss to Western Michigan on Wednesday gives the Huskies (5-21 overall, 4-13 Mid-American Conference) the worst record in school history. NIU went 6-20 in the 1998-1999 season.

Midway through the second half, Nelson, a junior center, had to be helped off the court when he twisted his ankle as he attempted to dunk the ball.

Nelson returned after a couple of minutes and sparked what almost was a Huskie comeback. NIU, which had been down by 12 points, went on a 10-0 run to tie the game at 54 apiece. Nelson had 5 points in the stretch and finished with 15 points and 7 rebounds.

“I know Matt, I knew he was going to come back,” said senior forward Steve Determan. “He doesn’t miss anything.”

NIU interim coach Andy Greer thought Nelson’s injury looked scary at first but soon realized he would be fine.

“I’ve seen that happen often,” Greer said. “A lot of times when you just mis-time your feet, and he turned his ankle. But I thought he had a heck of a game.”

After the Huskies tied the game with 4:42 left, the game was a see-saw battle, with the Broncos taking a 4-point lead and the Huskies battling back to tie the game. NIU never managed a lead.

Senior guard Stephen Jones dunked the ball on a rebound to pull the Huskies within one with 1:14 remaining in the game, giving the team momentum. But junior forward Leon Rodgers fouled out during the next series, stopping the Huskies’ surge.

“Their players made plays down the stretch,” Greer said. “And we didn’t make the plays. A lot of games are determined by that. It was a game that I thought we could win. I knew we were going to come back.”

Western Michigan guard John Powell scored 16 of the Broncos’ first 20 points in the first half, setting the tempo for his team (6-20, 6-11 MAC). He finished with a game-high 27 points on 5-of-10 from the floor and 15-of-16 from the free-throw line.

“The game could not start out in a better fashion in terms of getting off a great start,” Broncos coach Robert McCullum said. “We tend to play better at the start. We really had trouble holding onto the lead. We were very fortunate to be up by 10 going into halftime.”