NIU, held double digit leads and was up 45-41 at intermission. Akron made . . .
Junior guard Bryan Trimble, Jr. led Akron with a game-high 22 points, including 6-of-11 shooting from 3-point range. Senior point guard Loren Cristian Jackson also reached double figures with 19 points and added seven assists. Sophomore forward Ali Ali tallied 11 points and junior forward Michael Wynn added 10 points, five rebounds and two assists.
Wynn also helped lead the block party for Akron, which rejected seven shots on the day. His two blocks played into an 11-0 run over a span of 4:32 of the second half as the Zips (13-4, 11-3 MAC) seized control.
They took their first lead of the day (50-49) on a deep triple by Trimble at the 16:47 mark of the second half. In the ensuing moments, they were able to gradually build the margin to as many as eight as the Huskies cooled off and foul trouble began to thin the ranks of the Northern Illinois front court.
With two Huskie players fouling out by the 5:59 mark of the second half, NIU lost key depth and sent the Zips to the foul line often in the game's closing minutes. A 30-5 scoring edge from the charity stripe helped boost Akron on a day when its offense made just 38.5 percent of its field goal attempts.
That stood in contrast to an uncharacteristically good shooting day for the visitors, who entered the game averaging just 4.8 made 3-pointers per contest. Despite ranking last or next to last in the MAC in scoring, shooting and 3-point shooting, the Huskies (2-12, 1-8 MAC) shot the ball well in the opening half, making 58 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc and 55 percent from the field overall.
Junior forward Zool Kueth led the Huskies with 21 points, while sophomore guard Tyler Cochran notched a double-double with 20 points and 13 caroms.