Northern Illinois University held on tight down the stretch and survived a close one with Kent State, earning a 65-63 victory on the road at the M.A.C. Center in Kent, Ohio on Tuesday.
Kaleb Thornton was 7 for 8 from the field and 3 of 4 from beyond the arc to lead the Huskies (4-8, 1-1 MAC) with 17 points in the win, Trendon Hankerson added 14 points and Chinedu Kingsley Okanu scored 13 points.
NIU trailed 37-34 at halftime, but Kent State (7-8, 2-3 MAC) shot a miserable 1 for 11 from 3-point range in the second half as the Huskies rallied to a come-from-behind win.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Indian Creek 44, Putnam County 25: At Granville, the Timberwolves cruised to a comfortable road victory over the Panthers.
Geena Sanford led the way with 14 points for I-C and Audrey Witte added 10 points.
Sycamore 64, Plano 26: At Plano, the Spartans demolished the Reapers to secure an Interstate 8 win.
Sycamore outscored Plano 27-1 in the first quarter alone. Faith Feuerbach led the Spartans with 22 points and Evyn Carrier had 13 points and seven rebounds.
Kaneland 54, Morris 27: At Maple Park, the Knights doubled up Morris at home in a one-sided I-8 affair.
McKenzie Schueler led Kaneland (9-9, 4-2) with 13 points and Kailey Plank scored 12.
Genoa-Kingston 54, Harvest Christian 23: At Genoa, it was all Ally Poegel for the Cogs at home in a one-sided win.
Poegel went off for 26 points for G-K (12-6) and Emily Trzynka also hit double digits with 10 points.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Indian Creek 61, DePue 50: At DePue, Indian Creek came up big on the road on the strength of a 21-point performance from Brayden Todd.
Kaleb Helgesen added 11 points in the victory and Blake Simonson scored 10.
Hinckley-Big Rock 64, Hiawatha 29: At Kirkland, the Royals had no trouble on the road in a one-sided win over Hiawatha.
Judson Scott led H-BR (11-7, 4-1) with 15 points, Martin Ledbetter scored 12 and Richard Hintzsche added 10 points.
Genoa-Kingston 68, Harvest Christian 31: At Genoa, the Cogs opened up on a 17-0 run in a blowout victory at home.
Josh Oates led all scorers with 16 points for G-K (13-3), while Jake Oates and Josh Bunting added 13 points apiece.