The Northern Illinois University men’s basketball team traded 12 leads with Ohio and were tied nine times but a late 10-0 run helped lift the Bobcats to a 77-68 victory over the Huskies on Tuesday night at the Ohio University Convocation Center.
Five Huskies scored in double figures, led by 17 points from Darweshi Hunter. Harvin Ibarguen and Zarique Nutter each scored 13 points, Anthony Crump recorded his third double-double in the past four games with 11 points and 10 rebounds and Kaleb Thornton had 10 points and nine assists.
The Huskies (11-17, 7-8 MAC) were again playing without two top offensive weapons, Keshawn Williams and David Coit.
With Ohio (17-11, 9-6) in front by two points in the second half, Nutter started a five-point Huskie burst with a layup through contact. Crump added a free throw and Nutter again finished at the rim, giving the Huskies a 51-48 lead with a little more than 12 minutes remaining.
NIU’s lead still was three after a tough finish by Hunter, but six-straight points by the hosts helped give Ohio a 62-59 advantage with 5:44 left to play.
The Huskies were within 66-64 with 2:35 remaining when Ohio used a 10-0 run to push its lead to 12 and claim the victory.