DeKALB, Ill. – Jaylen Hunter scored 19 and Ohio shot nearly 51% from the field as the Bobcats defeated the Northern Illinois Huskies 82-76 on Tuesday night.
Hunter also grabbed 7 boards and five assists on the night. Miles Brown added 16 points, and the Bobcats got 13 apiece from Dwight Wilson and Elmore James.
The first half saw both teams battle back-and-forth for the lead.
Ohio (13-11, 5-6 MAC) would finally tilt things in their favor in the late stages of the first half with a 12-2 run to end the half.
During the scoring spurt, Baker would score four points off a couple free throws and a jumper, Wilson would add a layup and James would drain a 3-pointer to force the Huskies to call a timeout.
After the timeout, NIU would get a basket, but Ben Roderick would bury a trey with 40 seconds left to give Ohio a 46-39 lead going into the break.
Northern Illinois (10-14, 6-5 MAC) would come out in the second half and chip Ohio's lead down to four. But Wilson would respond with a layup and Hunter would score five-straight to put the Bobcats back up 62-51 with 11:20 remaining.
The Huskies would not go away, as they'd use an 8-2 run to cut Ohio's lead to 77-74 with 1:17 remaining in the game.
NIU would be forced to foul and the Bobcats would capitalize on free throws to secure the 82-76 win.
Kaleb Thornton scored 21 points to lead the Huskies. Zarique Nutter added nine rebounds
The Bobcats will be back in Athens on Friday, Feb. 10 to host the Akron Zips. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. inside the Convocation Center and can be seen on CBS Sports Network.
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