The Huskies and Cardinals were tied at 45 with seven minutes left when NIU used a 9-0 run to take control of the contest and never looked back.
With the win, NIU has earned the No. 7 seed in the Mid-American Conference Tournament and will host No. 10 seed Ohio on Monday night, March 11, at the NIU Convocation Center.
“Our defense was outstanding after the first six minutes of the game,” said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. “They jumped out to a 10-point lead and we finally started to rebound and get back in transition. Our defense was stellar for the last 15 minutes of the first half and we came out in the second half and set the tone.”
NIU (15-16, 8-10 MAC) and Ball State traded baskets from the 11:11 mark of the second half until a triple by junior Eugene German with just under seven minutes left sparked a nine-point Huskie burst. Bradley scored the next six as the Huskies took a 54-45 lead with 3:47 to play.
German finished with 15 points in the contest.
Tahjai Teague banked in a three-pointer late in the shot clock to trim the NIU advantage back to a half-dozen, but the Huskies answered right back as Bradley made a pair of free throws to push the lead to 56-48 with under three minutes left.
Ball State (15-16, 6-12 MAC) scored to cut the lead to five, but senior Dante Thorpe hit a floater with 49 seconds left to put the game out of reach.
Thorpe finished the night with 13 points. Teague led the Cardinals with 15, Tayler Persons added 14 points and K.J. Walton chipped in 10 points.
Ball State raced out to an 18-4 lead in the opening eight minutes of the contest before a triple by German with 11:46 to play in the opening half.
A basket by Bradley and another trifecta from German ignited a 10-0 run by the Huskies. McCarty converted at the rim and Thorpe knocked down a triple from the wing to bring the Huskies within three, 20-17, with just over six minutes to play in the opening half.
Following a pair of free throws by Ball State, McCarty hit a runner in the lane and Bradley made a pair from the line to bring the Huskies within one, 22-21.
NIU went in front for the first time in the contest when German connected on a pair of free throws with 2:20 to play before the intermission. Ball State then scored two of the final three baskets of the half to take a 28-27 lead into halftime.
Neither team led by more than one in the first six minutes of the second half but an 8-2 run, capped by a dunk from German, put the Huskies in front, 39-34, with 12:41 left to play.
Ball State pulled even at 41 and the two teams then traded baskets until German’s trifecta ignited the 9-0 run as the Huskies raced away from the Cardinals.
NIU will host Ohio on Monday night, March 11, at 8 p.m. in the First Round of the MAC Tournament.