Sports
Thursday, January 28, 2016
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Second half collapse throttles b-ball Christopher Loggins Sports Editor T @NSSportsLoggins
DeKalb | A historic season came to a short pause Tuesday night for men’s basketball (16-4, 5-2 MAC) as the team took a 76-66 loss to Akron (16-4, 5-2 MAC). The Huskies were led by freshman guard Marshawn Wilson, who poured in a team-high 15 points on 5-9 shooting. He was followed by junior guard Aaric Armstead and senior guard Travon Baker, who each contributed 10 points.
“
I thought it was a hardfought game. It was two physical teams. When crunch time came in the final minutes, Akron stepped up and made two huge threes ... .” Mark Montgomery NIU head coach
Both teams put on a great showing in the first half, going back and forth in what looked like a game that would come down to the wire. The Huskies got 22 points from their bench and outscored the Zips 12-4 in the paint, giving them a 3130 lead heading into halftime. Akron picked up its play in the
second half, getting huge contributions from its bench and scoring 11 points off NIU turnovers. The Zips were led by junior forward Kwan Cheatham, Jr. The 6-foot-10 standout didn’t miss a shot on the day, scoring a game-high 18 points on 5-5 shooting in 31 minutes. He also corralled five rebounds, three blocks and two assists. Sophomore guard Antino Jackson and junior center Isaiah Johnson each gave the Zips 13 points, along with sophomore guard Noah Robotham who contributed 11 points. The Huskies shot 41 percent from the field and 34 percent from three-point range in the 10-point loss. Akron shot 43 percent from the field and 38 percent from behind the line. NIU led the game in rebounding, winning the battle 32-29. A big difference in the game came from the free-throw line — Akron shot 26-35 from the stripe compared to just 10-17 for the Huskies, a 16-point swing. “I thought it was a hard-fought game,” said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery, according to an NIU Athletics news release. “It was two physical teams. When crunch time came in the final minutes, Akron stepped up and made two huge threes and I thought that was the
Atlee Hargis | Northern Star
Senior guard Travon Baker rises for a shot in Friday’s win against Toledo. Baker won MAC West Player of the Week and scored 10 points against Akron, but it wasn’t enough as the Huskies fell short to the Zips on Tuesday, 76-66.
difference. Credit Akron, they made plays. We competed, but teams played hard.” The Huskies will have an opportunity to avenge the tough
Men’s tennis back over .500 Patrick Smith Staff writer T @NSSportsPatrick
Doubles matches 1. Treis/Butler (UWW) def. Daun/Lundkvist (NIU), 6-4. 2. Tom Hjertonsson/Hamel (NIU) def. Rithwik Rajshekhar Raman/Miguel Perez (UWW), 6-3. 3. Schuette/Manzanas (NIU) def.
DeKalb | Women’s tennis (2-1) went to work against Lewis University on Friday, outplaying the Flyers by a 6-1 score. The Huskies managed to win against Lewis in singles matches, going 5-1. They got singles wins in the top two matches from junior Adey Osabuohien and senior Cristina Alvarez. NIU also got singles wins from sophomores Evelyn Youel and Abigail Dekkinga, along with freshman Meghan Montgomerie. Dekkinga, Youel and Montgomerie all became two-time winners after reigning victorious in doubles matches.
Scott Walstrom | NIU Media Services
Sophomore Louis-Philippe Hamel swings in a match this season. He defeated UWW junior Rithwik Rajshekhar Raman in a singles match on Sunday in NIU’s win.
Brandon Dechter/Rory (UWW), 6-2.
Calabria
Singles matches 1. Manzanas (NIU) def. Treis (UWW), 6-1, 6-1. 2. Hamel (NIU) def. Raman (UWW), 6-3, 6-1. 3. Hjertonsson (NIU) def. Zane Navratil (UWW), 6-3, 6-0. 4. Lundkvist (NIU) def. Matt Bisbee (UWW), 6-4, 6-0. 5. Daun (NIU) def. Calabria (UWW), 6-2, 7-6. 6. Schuette (NIU) def. Schnarr (UWW), 7-5, 6-1.
The Huskies will look to improve their winning streak to three games this weekend as they face off against UIC at 4 p.m. Friday in Aurora. The team will also play another double header to cap off the week, returning for matches against Wright State and Eastern Illinois. Games will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday in Rockford. NIU is set to play 11 consecutive games in Rockford during the month of February before heading on the road again in early March for seven straight games.
remain on the road following the loss as they prepare to face off against Miami at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Oxford, Ohio. The game will be televised on ESPN3.
Women’s tennis beats Lewis for another win Danielle Brown Staff writer
DeKalb | Men’s tennis (2-1) end-
ed its weekend victorious again as it dominated the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on Sunday by a score of 7-0. The Huskies managed to have a lot of energy after already playing a game against Detroit earlier in the day where they beat the Titans in a close game, 4-3. Wisconsin-Whitewater got the game started with a win in a doubles match as senior Michael Treis and junior Scott Butler defeated sophomores Kevin Daun and Georg Lundkvist 6-4. The Huskies proved to be resilient, winning the second doubles match 6-3 and the third 6-2. Sophomore Carlos Manzanas set the tempo, winning his No. 1 matchup with Treis by scores of 6-1 in both sets. Freshman Erich Schuette closed it out with a tough battle against senior Michael Schnarr. Schuette won the first set 7-5 and the second one 6-1. NIU head coach Patrick Fisher said he liked the effort his team gave, putting the team over .500 for the first time this season. “It wasn’t the prettiest of games,” Fisher said. “But I like that we can win without playing our best games.”
loss as the teams are scheduled for another matchup Feb. 13 at the Convocation Center. NIU is currently 13-0 at home. Montgomery and his team will
Singles matches 1. Adey Osabuohien (NIU) defeated Dora Andrejszki (Lewis), 7-6, 6-1. 2. Cristina Alvarez (NIU) defeated Nora Mindiyarova (Lewis), 7-5, 6-2. 3. Megan Nguyen (Lewis) defeated Michelle Erasmus (NIU), 7-6, 6-4. 4. Abigail Dekkinga (NIU) defeated Jill Wetmore (Lewis), 6-4, 6-1. 5. Evelyn Youel (NIU) defeated Megan Conlin (Lewis), 6-1, 6-1. 6. Meghan Montgomerie (NIU) defeated Hannah Cross (Lewis), 6-1, 6-0. Doubles matches 1. Andrejszki and Mindiyarova (Lewis) defeated Osabuohien and Alvarez (NIU), 7-5. 2. Dekkinga and Youel (NIU)
Next game
NIU vs. Bradley Time: 10 a.m. Date: Saturday Location: Peoria defeated Nguyen and Wetmore (Lewis), 7-5. 3. Erasmus and Montgomerie (NIU) defeated Conlin and Cross (NIU), 6-0. Up next The Huskies will defend their two-game winning streak this week as they take on Bradley University on Saturday. They will be away from home until April 1 for a matchup with Akron. Many of their home games will be played in Rockford, where they won seven of the eight games they played at the Boylan Tennis Center. Head coach Tanya Gombera said she was proud of the Huskies’ performance following a victory Friday against Lewis, lauding how they were able to play up to the competition. “We’re really glad to get the win against a quality team such as Lewis,” Gombera said, according to an NIU Athletics news release. They really challenged us in every spot, and we were able to respond well. We now look ahead to the next match against Bradley, which will be another tough contest for us.”