Senior Dante Thorpe scored a team-high 23 points and junior Eugene German posted his first career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds as NIU earned its first victory over a ranked opponent since February 3, 1973.
The Huskies led by six with under a minute to play before C.J. Massinburg made three free throws and hit a pull-up triple with six seconds left to tie the contest.
Following a timeout, NIU went the length of the floor and Hankerson found a wide open McCarty rolling to the rim for the layup. Buffalo called a timeout and threw the ball into the frontcourt where it was intercepted by Thorpe as the Huskies beat the Bulls for the second consecutive season.
McCarty finished with six points, on 3-of-4 shooting, and six rebounds in just over 19 minutes of action.
“What a game,” said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. “Credit Buffalo; they have been carrying the conference. They are ranked in the top-15 in the country, which is very deserving. Your players are going to get up for it.
" I thought our guys put together a complete, 40-minute game. Both teams had to overcome some foul trouble. (C.J.) Massinburg … he has to be an All-American. Down six to put it to three, then the shot to tie the game.
He continued, “Probably the best game, I’ve been here eight years, that I have been a part of. I just credit out team for believing they could win the game, following the game plan and not being in awe of their ranking … We grew up tonight, big win for this team and this university.”
An 18-4 Buffalo run erased a 10-point Huskie lead midway through the second half as the Bulls went in front, 56-52.
NIU (11-8, 4-2 MAC) ended the run as German converted an old-fashioned three-point play to trim the Buffalo lead back to one, 56-55.
Buffalo’s lead had grown back to three until a triple from German pulled NIU even, 62-62, with 6:09 left, sparking an 8-0 Huskie burst. Hankerson banked home a jumper, Thorpe added a basket and German made a free throw as NIU led 67-62 with 3:23 to go.
Hankerson finished with four points and five rebounds.
A pair of free throws from Massinburg trimmed the NIU lead to three with 2:10 left before Thorpe matched him with two from the line as the lead grew back to five with 1:43 to go.
Buffalo (17-2, 5-1 MAC) went 22-of-31 (71 percent) from the line while NIU went 19-of-24 (79.2 percent) in a game that featured 50 total fouls.
German made a layup as the NIU lead grew to 73-66 with just under 90 seconds to play before a Massinburg three cut the Huskie advantage back to four. Another German layup gave NIU a six-point lead, 75-69, with under a minute to play.
On the next possession, Massinburg drew contact from German on a three-pointer and went to the line for three shots, fouling German out of the game in the process. Massinburg made all three free throws to cut the NIU lead in half with 47 seconds left.
After a Huskie turnover with 18 seconds remaining, Massinburg buried a triple with six seconds to play, tying the game at 75. The Huskies went the length of the floor with Buffalo’s defense pushing Hankerson toward the sideline in the frontcourt before he found McCarty all alone for the layup with less than a second to play.
“I knew I had a guy on me,” said Hankerson. “I saw him go over the screen. I saw Perkins ‘shaqing’ the screen, going under it. I knew if I turned around and lifted it, Noah would be wide open.”
“This is definitely up there (as a career highlight),” McCarty added. “Especially being a role player last two years, still coming off the bench. Being able to have a moment like this is a lifetime memory that I’m gonna have forever.”
The win was NIU’s third in school history over a ranked opponent. The last time the Huskies beat a ranked opponent came on February 3, 1973 when NIU topped No. 19 Oral Roberts, 95-86, at Chicago Stadium. NIU’s only other win over a top-25 foe, and its only previous one at home, came on January 4, 1972, an 85-71 victory over fifth-ranked Indiana.
Massinburg scored a team-high 23 points for Buffalo, along with seven rebounds and four assists, leading four Bulls in double figures. Jeremy Harris added 15 points, Nick Perkins scored 12 and Jayvon Graves chipped in 10 points.
(Courtesy of NIU Athletics)