Late Cardinals run halts Huskie comeback
Charlie Neibergall | Associated Press
Northern Illinois junior forward Zool Kueth, left, fights for a rebound with Iowa junior guard Joe Wieskamp, right, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020, in Iowa City, Iowa.
January 16, 2021
DeKalb — Men’s basketball loses another Mid-American Conference game to the Ball State University Cardinals Saturday, 78-58.
The Huskies did not lead at any point during the game, but started to mount a comeback halfway through the second half by making it a nine-point game. The Cardinals went on a 20-9 run in the final eight minutes of the game to eventually make it a 20-point margin of victory.
The Huskies were led by junior forward Zool Kueth with 15 points on 3-5 3-point shooting. Junior guard Trendon Hankerson had 12 points for the Huskies and senior forward Nathan Scott had 8 points coming off the bench. Junior guard Darius Beane only had six points on 3-13 shooting from the field. Although his shooting was off in the game, he did register eight rebounds and seven assists.
Huskies sophomore Tyler Cochran did not play against Ball State due to an injury to his hamstring he endured in the game against the Bowling Green State University Falcons Jan. 2.
The Huskies shot only 34.9% from the field as a team and 34.8% from the 3-point line as a team in this game. The Huskies also had 13 turnovers and 20 personal fouls with Beane fouling out. The Cardinals shot 46.4% from the field as a team and also had eight steals in the game against the Huskies.
The Cardinals were led by junior forward Miryne Thomas with 20 points and seven rebounds, and sophomore guard Luke Bumbalough contributed 11 points on 3-5 shooting from the 3-point line.
NIU falls to 2-10 on the season and a 1-6 record in MAC play this season.
The Huskies will be heading back home to play the Ohio University Bobcats 6 p.m. Tuesday at the NIU Convocation Center in DeKalb. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.
