Brian Molis made the most of his opportunity to make amends for his poor 1-for-16 shooting performance on Saturday with a 9-for-16 effort Monday night against Western Illinois.

Molis led the NIU men’s basketball team to an 82-77 win over WIU by pouring in 27 points while adding five rebounds and three steals.

For Molis, who entered Monday’s contest as NIU’s leading scorer this season (14.5 ppg.), it was a welcome turnaround from Saturday’s performance in NIU’s loss to Wisconsin Green-Bay.

“Saturday I couldn’t buy a basket, and I couldn’t even buy a lay-up,” Molis said. “The funny thing about Saturday night is that I probably felt the best going into that game than any game since I sprained (my ankle).

“The ankle felt worse today than Saturday, but I could have had a lot better game against Green Bay.”

In the first half against WIU, Molis got off to a good start by shooting 3-for-4 from the field. In the second half, Molis stayed in his rhythm by scoring 19 points, at one point scoring 14 straight for the Huskies.

When asked if he had ever had a streak like that, Molis responded, “Maybe once or twice, but it wasn’t Saturday night.”

Molis’ streak allowed the Huskies to open up a seven-point lead with just over six minutes left.

“I thought he (Molis) took over the game,” NIU head coach Brian Hammel said. “Brian is a streaky and emotional player and sometimes he takes questionable shots. Some of his decisions with the ball are mind boggling.

“But Brian is a flow type of player, but he’s one of those guys you’ve got to have out there because he’ll come through.”