DeKALB, Ill. ? After playing two exhibition games, the Indiana State men's basketball team opened the regular season on Tuesday night at Northern Illinois. ISU (0-1) scored 79 points and had four players in double figures, but the duo of Mike DiNunno and Darion Anderson combined for 52 points to lead NIU (2-1) to an 86-79 victory at the Convocation Center.
NIU jumped out to an early 8-2 lead after a three-pointer by Anderson with 15:52 on the clock and another three by Anderson widened the NIU advantage to 10 points at 14-4 just a minute later. Junior Josh Crawford then made back-to-back layups for the Sycamores to cut the lead to 14-8, but a three-pointer by DiNunno extended the lead to 12 points at 20-8 with 12 minutes remaining in the half.
ISU answered back with a 14-1 run to eventually take the lead back from the Huskies. A three-point play from Crawford started the streak senior Jay Tunnell got into the act with a jumper to cut the lead to 20-13. A three-pointer from Rashad Reed then cut the lead to four points soon after, before Anderson made the first of two free throws to make the score 21-16. Freshman Carl Richard and sophomore Aaron Carter then answered with back-to-back layups to cut the lead to one before a dunk by sophomore Isiah Martin gave the Sycamores the lead at 22-21 with 7:04 remaining in the half.
A free throw from Ante Dzepina and a jumper by Anderson gave the Huskies the lead back soon after, but a three-pointer by Carter knotted the game at 25-25 with just over five minutes left on the clock. Five straight points gave NIU the lead back at 30-25 and the Huskies maintained a slim lead over the final four and a half minutes of play to head into the locker room with a 38-33 lead after DiNunno connected from three-point range as the clock ran out.
At the start of the second half, NIU jumped out to a quick 10-point lead at 45-35 after another three-pointer by DiNunno. As ISU attempted to chip back at the lead, DiNunno struck again from three-point range to widen the lead to 12 at 51-39 at the 17:05 mark.
The Sycamores then fought back with an 11-2 run to cut the lead to three at 53-50. Tunnell willed his team back into the game with five straight points. After making a pair of free throws to cut the lead to seven, he came down the floor and knocked down a big three-pointer to make the score 53-48 and Crawford added a dunk to cut the lead to three, forcing and NIU timeout.
The Huskies came out of the timeout and hit a quick shot, before Tunnell connected from three-point range to cut the lead to two at 55-53. NIU then went on a 15-3 run over the next seven minutes to widen the lead to 70-56 before back-to-back three-pointers by Reed cut the lead back to eight points at 70-62 with 5:07 remaining in the game.
From there, the Huskies controlled the clock and maintained a double-digit lead until a layup by freshman Tyler Cutter cut the lead to nine points at 79-70 with just over a minute remaining. NIU continued to make its free throws as the Sycamores were forced to foul and held on for an 86-79 victory.
Reed led the way for the Sycamores in his first official game with the team, scoring 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting including a 5-for-8 effort from three-point range. Carter finished with 15 points and five rebounds for ISU, while Tunnell chipped in with 14 points and seven rebounds. Crawford rounded out the balanced effort with 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots in 28 minutes of play.
The Huskies were hot from long distance and shot 55 percent (11-for-20) from three-point range. DiNunno and Anderson each finished with 27 points to lead the way for the Huskies, while Sean Kowal added 10 points and three rebounds to the cause.
Indiana State returns to action on Sunday, Nov. 23, when the play their home opener against North Texas. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. on the Nellie and John Wooden Court at Hulman Center.
