Northern Illinois University wiped out a 21-point deficit during the last 10 minutes, 43 seconds on Sunday afternoon, rallying for a 61-56 men’s basketball victory over the University of Maine at the NIU Convocation Center in DeKalb, Illinois.
Coach Bob Walsh’s Black Bears (0-5) held a 54-33 advantage on Marko Pirovic’s 3-pointer with 10:43 remaining, but UMaine struggled mightily the rest of the way.
UMaine committed 11 of its 17 turnovers in the last 10 ½ minutes and shot an abysmal 1-for-13 from the field during the same span. The Huskies (3-1), who won for the eighth straight time at home, turned those dynamics into a game-altering 28-2 surge to end the contest.
“We haven’t really been in that situation as a team where we had a big lead,” Walsh told Jim Churchill of the Black Bear Sports Network after the game. “Composure and toughness are really vital, and we just didn’t have enough of either today to finish it out.”
Michael Orris paced Northern Illinois with 18 points and Darrell Bowie contributed 16 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots. Aaric Armstead added nine points, six rebounds and three steals for the hosts, who outscored the Black Bears 36-26 from the foul line and had 29 more attempted free throws.
The Huskies outrebounded the Black Bears 44-34 and tallied 18 second-chance points.
Pirovic, a sophomore forward, led a balanced offensive effort for UMaine with 10 points and completed a double-double with 10 rebounds along with two steals. He also had five turnovers.
Junior Shaun Lawton finished with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals while Zarko Valjarevic and Garet Beal of Beals Island posted nine points each. Till Gloger (5 rebounds) and Aaron Calixte (6 turnovers) chipped in with eight points each.
Armstead and Orris jumpstarted NIU’s second-half surge with back-to-back 3-pointers. Orris wound up with nine points during the run and Bowie netted eight, six of which came from the foul line.
UMaine, which had manufactured a 16-4 lead to open the game, led up until the last two minutes. NIU drew even with 1:42 left on a Travon Baker foul shot, then took its first lead — after a Black Bears turnover — on two Bowie free throws with 50 seconds to play.
Valjarevic missed a long 3-pointer for UMaine, which was forced to foul, and Bowie made the first of two to give the hosts a 59-56 edge with 13 seconds left.
However, Armstead stole the ball from Calixte, was fouled and made both shots to put the game out of reach.
“Our defense was certainly a lot better and hopefully our guys will start to trust it and believe in it and understand that that’s got to be who were are,” Walsh said.
“Really, it’s just mental toughness now. We’ve had some tough losses. We’ve battled every day in practice. This is a real tough one. We should have won, quite honestly.”
UMaine plays its first regular-season home game Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Wagner at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.