GEORGIA 77, MIAMI 70
KENT STATE 77, PORTLAND 65
Zarique Nutter led the way with 20 points, Keshawn Williams added 14 and seven assists while David Coit chipped in 11 points and five assists.
NIU shot 60.6 percent (40-of-66) from the field in the contest, including 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from three-point range. The Huskies had 22 assists in the contest.
An early 9-0 run helped the Huskies get off to a good start, taking a six-point lead. Nutter had six of the nine points to get the NIU offense started. After the Pride pulled back within a pair, 9-7, NIU answered with the next seven as the Huskies took a 16-7 lead with 11 minutes to play in the opening half. Oluwasegun Durosinmi made free throw, followed by baskets from Kaleb Thornton, Xavier Amos and Zion Russell. Amos, Russell and Thornton each had eight points off the bench for the Huskies.
Purdue Northwest used a 10-2 burst to trim the NIU advantage back to one, 18-17, with 8:15 left before halftime. The Huskie lead was still one until Williams went on a 9-2 run of his own, giving the Huskies a 30-22 lead with 5:14 left in the opening half.
After a basket by Purdue Northwest brought the Pride within a half-dozen, NIU scored the next seven as Russell made a triple and Nutter added a pair of buckets to give the Huskies a 37-24 lead with 3:11 to play before the intermission.
The NIU advantage reached 16 when Coit knocked in a triple, but Purdue Northwest scored the final five points of the half to cut the Huskie lead to 42-31 at halftime.
NIU started the second half with an 8-1 burst as the lead grew to 50-32 just two minutes into the second half. Three minutes later, the Huskies went on an 11-2 run to take a 69-40 lead with 12:53 to play and they never looked back.
Dillon led Purdue Northwest with 15 points, Tyran Rodgers added 13 for the visitors.
By MIKE SMITH
ATHENS, GA -- Three days after cruising past Goshen College, the Miami RedHawks found themselves playing with the Big Dawgs.
Dawgs, that is, as in Georgia.
Last year's MU team pulled off an upset win over Georgia, but that MU bunch was a much different squad. This year's team, under the direction of new Head Coach Travis Steele, is a much younger group. Tuesday's final results, therefore, were not all that surprising -- a 77-70 Georgia victory at Stegeman Colesium.
Until several more experienced players return, the RedHawks are grinding through November with a relatively young group. Point guard Mekhi Lairy was the only returning . . . CONTINUE
Kent, Ohio - Kent State extended its record to 3-0 with a win against Portland 77-65 Monday evening at the M.A.C. Center.
The Golden Flashes got off to a hot start and used a tough defense, holding Portland to a season low 65 points, while picking up the victory.
Malique Jacobs and Sincere Carry were back on the court together again and made their impact felt. After sitting out due to injury, Jacobs shined in his return, tallying a game-high 21 points while dishing out four assists and grabbing six rebounds. Carry, meanwhile, contributed 14 points, 4 steals and 4 assists.
Miryne Thomas, who has scored double-digits in all three games this season, recorded 10 points against Portland. Giovanni Santiago knocked down 3-of-5 trey attempts on the way to 11 points. Cli'ron Hornbeak was just short of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
Defensively, KSU limited the Pilots' two leading scorers, Moses Wood and Tyer Robertson to 13 and 12 points, respectively. Both players had averaged over 15 points per game.
Kent State owned a 38-24 lead at intermission and pushed its advantage to as much as 19 with 7:33 left until the final horn.