Article from http://www.niuhuskies.com/ .....
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Juniors Xavier Silas (23 points) and Sean Kowal (17) combined for 40 points, and the Huskies built as large as a seven-point second half lead, but Western Michigan's David Kool poured in 33 points, 28 in the second half, leading the Broncos (14-12, 6-7 MAC) to a 90-81 win over the Northern Illinois men's basketball team (8-17, 4-9) at University Arena Wednesday night. The Huskies shot 43.9 percent for the game, including a 55 percent output from three-point range, but WMU countered with a 61.5 percent shooting effort in the second half, recorded a 40-28 rebounding advantage, and out-scored NIU in the paint, 38-22. The Broncos also shot 45 free throws, converting 34, compared to NIU's 20-of-27 tally from the charity stripe. There were a combined 15 ties and lead changes, and a total of 52 personal fouls called. Junior guard Michael Patton, making his first start of the season, joined Silas and Kowal in double figures, scoring 12 points on four three-pointers. Freshman Tony Nixon also added eight points on 3-of-5 shooting. Flenard Whitfield (16 points), Donald Lawson (13) and Martelle McLemore (12) all added double digit scoring outputs for WMU.
"I thought our guys did a nice job sticking with (David) Kool on the perimeter in the first half, but in the second half, he made some drives, and exposed us a little bit defensively," said NIU head coach Ricardo Patton. "He's a great player, and he willed his team to a win tonight. He also got to the foul line, and knocked down 16 of his 17 attempts. That's a guy that knows how to score the ball, and he was tremendous in the second half. "I thought the turning point of the game for us was when (Bryan) Hall got shaken up in the second half. He was finally coming off his hamstring injury, and was doing a great job running the show for us. We are a much more efficient team with a pure point guard out there, and that showed tonight. We saw some great things, as we have the last three games. Our challenge now is putting it all together for the stretch run, and trying to find a way to get over the hump." The Broncos seized early control, jumping out to a 14-7 lead with 13:53 remaining in the first half. After falling behind 21-14, the Huskies answered with 10-3 run, bolstered by back-to-back three-pointers from Silas, and tied the score (24-24) with 4:25 remaining in the opening stanza.
NIU continued on its run, claiming a 33-28 lead with 1:26 remaining, and 35-30 with 11 seconds left, but two free throws by Mike Douglas with just six seconds on the clock pulled the Broncos within one possession (35-32) heading into the locker room at halftime. Silas' 11 points were a game-high for the opening 20 minutes, and the Huskies held the Broncos to just a 35.7 percent shooting effort. The Huskies opened the second half on a 6-2 spurt, and claimed a 41-34 lead at the 18:50 mark. Northern Illinois held the advantage for the ensuing 5:39, before WMU re-gained the lead, 53-51, after Kool drilled two free throws. A conventional three-point play by Kowal on the other end quickly erased the Broncos' lead, and pushed the Huskies back in front, 54-53, with 13:08 remaining. The Broncos re-claimed the lead with 9:52 remaining, and stretched their advantage to as many as three points twice in the ensuing 3:34. But after Nixon's second three, NIU knotted the score again (66-66) with just 5:40 left. After NIU forced a defensive stop, Patton called timeout with 5:14 remaining. On the ensuing in-bound play, Kool and Silas battled for a high arching pass, and Kool came down with the interception. He then drove to the hole, finished with his left hand, and drew the foul, bringing the University Arena crowd of 3,016 to its feet. The conversion helped the Broncos seize momentum down the stretch, as the Huskies could draw no closer than a five points in the final 4:21. WMU hit 15 free throws during that span to hold off an aggressive late rally by the Huskies.
Official Basketball Box Score
Northern Illinois vs Western Michigan
2/17/10 7 p.m. at Kalamazoo, Mich (University Arena)
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VISITORS: Northern Illinois 8-17, 4-9 MAC
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
30 FISHER, Lee......... f 1-2 0-0 1-1 2 4 6 5 3 0 1 0 0 17
00 FAKUADE, Michael.... c 1-3 0-0 3-4 1 1 2 1 5 0 1 1 0 11
04 PATTON, Michael..... g 4-9 4-6 0-0 0 3 3 4 12 2 1 0 0 34
11 DINUNNO, Mike....... g 2-5 0-1 2-2 0 0 0 3 6 1 2 0 0 18
13 SILAS, Xavier....... g 7-18 5-8 4-6 3 2 5 4 23 3 2 1 2 34
01 HALL, Bryan......... 1-1 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 2 3 6 3 0 2 23
15 DZEPINA, Ante....... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1
24 LANDERS, Jeremy..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1
25 NIXON, Tony......... 3-5 2-3 0-2 1 0 1 5 8 0 2 0 0 13
32 ANDERSON, Darion.... 2-3 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 1 4 0 1 0 2 11
41 KOWAL, Sean......... 4-8 0-0 9-10 1 7 8 2 17 1 3 0 2 35
44 STORM, Tyler........ 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
TEAM................ 1 1
Totals.............. 25-57 11-20 20-27 8 20 28 31 81 13 16 2 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-27 40.7% 2nd Half: 14-30 46.7% Game: 43.9% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-9 55.6% 2nd Half: 6-11 54.5% Game: 55.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 8-9 88.9% 2nd Half: 12-18 66.7% Game: 74.1% 3
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HOME TEAM: Western Michigan 14-12, 6-7 MAC
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
03 McLEMORE, Martelle.. f 4-7 2-4 2-2 3 4 7 3 12 1 2 0 4 33
11 HUTCHESON, Nate..... f 1-3 0-0 1-3 1 4 5 3 3 0 1 0 1 14
24 LAWSON, Donald...... c 6-8 0-0 1-3 5 5 10 4 13 0 4 0 1 37
05 DOUGLAS, Mike....... g 0-2 0-1 3-4 0 2 2 2 3 7 2 0 2 25
23 KOOL, David......... g 8-18 1-4 16-17 1 1 2 2 33 4 1 0 3 36
01 WARD, Demetrius..... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 8
10 POKLEY, Brandon..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 5
15 WOLF, Alex.......... 1-3 1-2 1-2 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 10
21 WHITTINGTON, Shayne. 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2
25 BROWN, David........ 1-3 0-1 4-6 0 1 1 1 6 1 0 0 0 12
33 WHITFIELD, Flenard.. 5-9 0-0 6-8 2 3 5 3 16 0 1 0 0 18
TEAM................ 2 4 6
Totals.............. 26-54 4-12 34-45 14 26 40 21 90 14 12 0 11 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-28 35.7% 2nd Half: 16-26 61.5% Game: 48.1% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-6 33.3% 2nd Half: 2-6 33.3% Game: 33.3% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 10-13 76.9% 2nd Half: 24-32 75.0% Game: 75.6% 5,2
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Officials: Lamont Simpson, Tim Stewart, Dan Fouser
Technical fouls: Northern Illinois-LANDERS, Jeremy. Western Michigan-None.
Attendance: 3016
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Northern Illinois............. 35 46 - 81
Western Michigan.............. 32 58 - 90
13:11 Technical Foul NIU #24
02:55 NIU #30 Fouls out
00:27 NIU #25 Fouls out
Points in the paint-NIU 22,WMU 38. Points off turnovers-NIU 12,WMU 25.
2nd chance points-NIU 15,WMU 16. Fast break points-NIU 12,WMU 18.
Bench points-NIU 32,WMU 26. Score tied-8 times. Lead changed-7 times.
Last FG-NIU 2nd-00:06, WMU 2nd-02:06.
Largest lead-NIU by 7 2nd-18:50, WMU by 12 2nd-00:57.
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Thomas R. Wolf, Jr. <wmuwolf@gmail.com>