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DeKALB — Keshawn Williams kept up his recent hot play for the NIU men’s basketball team, but the Huskies lost for the fifth straight time on Saturday, 69-63, to Central Michigan.
Williams hit the 20-point mark for the third time in the last five games and is averaging almost 24 points per game in that stretch. He was a big part of the transition game for the Huskies (5-13 overall, 2-6 Mid-American Conference), who outscored the Chippewas (3-13, 2-3) 28-3 on the fast break.
“From the beginning of the year until now I feel like our transition offense has gotten way better,” Williams said. “I feel like that comes with us practicing transition drills and stuff. That came into play tonight but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to get the win.”
The NIU offense petered out early in the second half as Central Michigan built its lead to 55-43 with 7:59 left. But the Huskies went on a 14-2 run to tie the game at 57 on a layup by Anthony Crump with an assist by Williams.
The teams traded buckets on the next two possessions, but Central Michigan’s Kevin Miller hit a jumper with 1:51 left and the Huskies couldn’t respond. That kickstarted a 7-0 run to ice the game for the Chippewas.
NIU coach Rashon Burno said guys like Chinedu Kingsley Okanu and Darweshi Hunter sparked the run with high energy and big plays. Okanu had a pair of offensive boards and Hunter had a three-point play to bring the Huskies within 55-50.
“It was nothing we did from an offensive or defensive standpoint. Those guys just made plays,” Burno said. “This game is simple. If you have the ball and have a shot you have to make it. And that was it. Those guys who finished the game showed a little bit of grit.”
Williams led all scorers with 20 in the win. He scored 32 against Bowling Green on Jan. 18, then on Jan. 22 put up 28 at Miami.
Burno said he’s looking for Williams, a sophomore transfer from Tulsa, to be more aggressive.
“He’s not even close to where I need him to be in regards of being an alpha male,” Burno said. “But he’s a wonderful kid, a great talent and he loves to work, which is a plus. ... He’s still learning to be one of the focal guys on the team. It’s something he’s growing into.”
Burno also said he thinks Williams can bloom into a better all-around player. He had two assists, no steals and five rebounds in the loss Saturday, but also drew seven fouls.
“He can be an incredible on-ball defender,” Burno said. “We’re still pushing him to reach his ceiling. He’s compliant and he loves to compete. I think the sky’s the limit with him. I think he’ll probably be one of the best players to ever play here when it’s all said and done.”
Burno said while he was pleased with fast-break points for the Huskies, they could have scored even more in transition. Williams agreed, adding that it’s hard to play in transition when the other team is scoring, something that hindered NIU in the final two minutes.
“I felt we should have kept trying to push the ball,” Williams said. “We played in halfcourt a lot more than we wanted to. We should have tried to get the ball out of the net and get it out of there. But then again you half to get stops to play in transition, and we really weren’t getting stops.”
Anthony Crump added 10 points and a team-best six rebounds as NIU finished with a 40-34 edge on the boards. Ralph Bissainthe led four Chippewas in double digits with 17 points and a game-best nine rebounds.
With the five-game losing streak overlapping a stretch of four games in eight days, Williams said the team is focused on getting back on track, which it can do Tuesday at Western Michigan (4-16, 0-9).
“This is the time of year where a lot of teams fracture,” Williams said. “We’re going to try not to fracture. We know we have other games ahead of us. We just have to trust each other. ... That’s going to be on us, within ourselves. And I believe we can do it.”