OU's revenge extends NIU men's road woes

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ATHENS, Ohio - College basketball - at times - can only be described as inexplicable. If you were Northern Illinois University men's basketball coach Rob Judson this morning, you were probably thinking about opportunities - such as winning on the road for the first time this season and evening the Huskies' record at 8-8 overall and 3-3 in the Mid-American Conference West Division against an Ohio University quintet that NIU beat two weeks ago. Except that the Northern Illinois verson of that script changed drastically late in the first half and during the final 20 minutes when the host Bobcats did everything right in an 80-59 MAC victory Saturday afternoon before 9,109 spectators in the OU version of the Convocation Center. Midway in the first half, Judson's Huskies went on an 16-3 spurt in the span of 5:48 to erase an 18-9 deficit and transformed it into an 25-21 lead on a jump shot by frosh guard Mike McKinney. Northern Illinois first went ahead, 21-20, on a lay-up by senior guard Walter Thompson with 7:43 left in the opening half and did not surrender that lead until the final 48 seconds when Ohio's Jaivon Harris and Delvar Barrrett scored back-to-back baskets for a 36-33 halftime bulge. Then the bottom dropped out. The hosts outscored the Huskies, 44-26, over the final 20 minutes - a half that saw Northern Illinois shoot 34.5 percent (10-of-29) from the floor, zero percent (0-of-7) from behind the three-point line, and 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from the free throw stripe. OU built the lead to double digits, 49-39, on a Barrett foul shot with 14:34 left to play. That margin elevated to the high teens in the last five minutes and, eventually 27 (80-53) at the 1:59 mark. "Give credit to Ohio," Judson said afterwards. "They really shot the ball well in the second half. In the first half, we made a nice run to bring it back and take the lead. We tried to focus on the first four minutes of the second half and we couldn't get the ball in the basket. It was difficult to get the ball into Marcus (Smallwood). "We just didn't put the ball in the hoop or get to the free throw line. I also think their intensity carried over from the Buffalo game (a 90-76 win Wednesday). We got some backdoor plays against Eastern Michigan that we did not get today." While the Huskie marksmanship faltered in the final half, the Bobcat shooting eye warmed up - hitting 50 percent (14-of-28) from the field, 66.7 percent (6-of-9) from behind the arc, and 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from the charity stripe. With 19 Northern Illinois turnovers and a 14-of-25 (56.0 percent) effort at the foul line overall, road loss No. 8 was inevitable. Then another old malady hurt the guests as Ohio gained a 27-8 advantage on points off turnovers. Senior guard Thomas Stephens scored 15 of his team-high 17 points by hitting all six field goal attempts (and three treys) in the second half and led a parade of five OU twin-digit scorers. Guard Harris followed with 16 points, wide-body forward Terren Harbut added 15 points, plus forward Sonny Troutman and Barrett produced 11 points apiece. After senior guard P. J. Smith's game-best 21 points and Smallwood's 26th career point-rebound "double double" (12 boards and 11 points), the Huskie box score featured eight single-digit scorers - led by frosh Paige Paulsen's career-high seven points. Paulsen also contributed five rebounds and two steals in 15 minutes. Northern Illinois did beat the Bobcats on the boards by a 41-34 margin. At the same time, the OU bench outscored the visitors, 46-19. Despite only getting nine field goal attempts against Ohio, the 6-foot-6, 215-pound Smallwood did tie All-Century and Hall of Fame icon Jim Bradley (1971-73) for the No. 16 spot on the all-time Huskie scoring list with 1,134 career points. At the same time, Smith moved within 12 points of becoming the 24th Northern Illinois male performer to reach the 1,000 career point plateau in his third NIU season. En route to that No. 24 spot and 988 points, the 6-4, 200-pound Smith passed two more Hall of Famers in guard Bobby Wood (983 points in 1945-49) and center Jim Smith (978 in 1967-69). At the same time, Judson's Huskies played minus the services of two guards - frosh Ryan Paradise who is sidelined with a right wrist injury and impending surgery and senior Al Sewasciuk who was sidelined with a left leg calf muscle injury from the Eastern Michigan victory last week. The 21-point setback was the program's worst since a 77-45 loss to the University of Illinois-Chicago on Dec. 28, 2002. Ohio improved to 5-10 overall and 2-3 in the MAC East Division. "We just have to keep pushing forward," Judson said, referring to the short turnaround time and travel for Tuesday's Mid-Am contest at Ball State University and a 6 p.m. (CST) tipoff. Northern Illinois, now 7-9 overall and 2-4 in the MAC West Division, returns to its own Convocation Center next Sunday (Jan. 25) against the University at Buffalo and a 2:05 p.m. (CST) tipoff. Including the Bulls, the Huskies play seven of their last 11 MAC games at home. For the record, Northern Illinois stands 0-6 away and 1-2 on neutral courts this winter.