Huskies struggle to find shooting rhythm in blowout loss
Then-first-year guard Tyler Cochran looks to get the edge on a screen Monday during NIU’s 65-48 win against Longwood University at the Convocation Center.
December 2, 2020
DeKALB — The men’s basketball team lost their second game of the season Wednesday to Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville in blowout fashion, 73 to 53.
SIUE led by 20 points or more for most of the game and were led by junior forward Sidney Wilson who had 22 points. The Cougars shot over 50%from the field and 42% from 3-point range. The Cougars had 30 rebounds and 10 steals with their full court pressure from the start of the game.
The Huskies were led by sophomore guard Tyler Cochran, who had 15 points and junior guard Darius Beane, who finished with 13 points. Due in part to the full court pressure of SIUE, the Huskies turned the ball over 19 times and only had 18 points in the first half.
“We need to be more patient and not get rattled,” Beane said. “We need to make the smart and right play not the fancy play. We turned the ball over a lot because we were rattled.”
The Huskies found their stride in the second half where Cochran scored 13 of his 15 points and the team scored 35 points. NIU junior guard Trendon Hankerson was quiet during the game, shooting 3-7 from the field and 1-4 from 3-point land. He got into foul trouble in the first half and fouled out midway through the second half. He finished with 7 points.
“We lost one of the nation’s best scorers last year, which hurt us offensively,”. Cochran said. “We just have to find out who we are. We need to have confidence in ourselves on and off the court.”
SIUE started the game strong, amounting to a double-digit lead, while NIU shot only 18% from the field and missed all 3-point attempts in the first eight minutes of the game.
The Huskies started to put points on the board in the second half but it was too little too late.
“This game was not the result we wanted,” Head Coach Mark Montgomery said. “We have to defend, rebound, and hold on to the ball. If we do those three things right there, we have a chance to win.”
The Huskies head on the road for their first game away from DeKalb this season 6 p.m. Saturday to the University of Pittsburgh. The game will be broadcasted on the ACC Network Extra.
