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ATHENS, Ohio – As graduate student forward Dwight Wilson III recorded his 1,000-career rebound, the Ohio men's basketball team (17-11, 9-6 MAC) gutted out its sixth-straight win Tuesday night (Feb. 21), defeating Northern Illinois (11-17, 7-8 MAC), 77-68, inside the Convocation Center. 
 
Wilson III became the fourth Bobcat to record at least 1,000 career rebounds and the fourth Bobcat to record 1,000 career points and rebounds. 
 
Overall, Ohio shot 42.6 percent from the field, 32.1 percent from three and were 10-of-14 from the line, while NIU shot 56.6 percent from the field, were 1-of-19 from three and were 9-of-19 from the line Ohio outrebounded the Huskies, 41-38, while Ohio dished out 14 assists to their 13. Ohio also forced 12 turnovers and scored 16 points off them. 
 
Individually, Wilson III (Tallahassee, Fla.) led Ohio with 24 points and 10 rebounds, while junior guard Jaylin Hunter (Manchester, Conn.) added 16 points, four rebounds and seven assists. Freshman guard Elmore James (Cleveland, Ohio) added 10 points and six rebounds, while senior guard Miles Brown (Rochester, N.Y.) added nine points and two blocks. 
 
NIU won the tip, but the Bobcats got off to an early 5-0 lead with layups from Hunter and Wilson III and a free throw from Miles Brown. NIU then took a one-point lead before a three from Hunter put Ohio up two. After the Huskies tied the game again, a three from senior forward Ben Roderick (Powell, Ohio) put the Bobcats up 11-8 before a jumper from NIU cut the Ohio lead to one going into the first media timeout. After NIU took a one-point lead, threes from James and sophomore forward AJ Clayton (Roseville, Ohio) put the Bobcats back up five. Moments later, NIU hit a dunk, cutting the Bobcats' lead to two going into the second media timeout. 
 
Out of the timeout, the Bobcats caught fire, with back-to-back layups from Wilson III, followed by back-to-back threes from freshman guard AJ Brown (Orlando, Fla.) and Hunter, putting the Bobcats up 10 and forcing NIU to call a timeout. NIU then went on a 7-0 run to cut the Ohio lead to three, before free throws from Roderick put Ohio back up five. Both teams then traded layups over the next three minutes, with the Huskies cutting the Ohio lead to 34-33 with 2:52 remaining in the half. Out of the timeout, NIU went up three, before a three from Miles Brown tied the game at 37-37 going into the half. 
 
At the half, Ohio shot 39 percent from the field, 47 percent from three and were 4-of-6 from the line, while NIU shot 46 percent from the field, went 0-for-8 from three and were 3-of-5 from the line. Ohio outrebounded NIU, 22-20, while Ohio also dished out seven assists to NIU's six. 
 
Individually, Wilson III led with 10 points and seven rebounds, while Hunter finished the half with eight points and three assists. 
 
Ohio opened the second half with the first two points on a layup from Wilson III, however NIU went on a 4-0 run to take a two-point lead, forcing Ohio to burn a 30 second timeout with 17:48 remaining in the game. After the Bobcats tied the game back up, NIU took a three-point lead, however back-to-back jumper from James and Hunter gave the Bobcats a one-point lead with 15:26 remaining in the game. After Ohio went up two, NIU went on a 5-0 run to take a three-point lead, before a jumper from Wilson III cut the Ohio deficit to 51-50 going into the under-12 media timeout. 
 
After the Bobcats retook the lead, NIU's first three of the game put the Huskies up two. After a dunk from Wilson III tied the game, a jumper from NIU gave them the two-point lead with 7:49 remaining in the game. After free throws from Wilson III tied the game, NIU went back up three before a three-point play from Miles Brown tied the game at 59-59. Moments later, a three from Roderick gave Ohio a three-point lead. After the two teams traded baskets over the next minute, a driving layup from Miles Brown gave Ohio a 66-63 lead with 4:13 remaining in the game 
 
After NIU cut the Ohio lead to two points with 2:35 remaining, a layup from Wilson III and a corner three from James put the Bobcats up 71-64, forcing NIU to call a timeout. After the timeout, a steal and two layups from Hunter and a free throw from senior guard DeVon Baker (Dayton, Ohio) down the stretch helped secure the 77-68 victory. 
 
For NIU, Darweshi Hunter scored 17 points, while Zarique Nutter added 13 points and Anthony Crump grabbed 10 rebounds. 
 
Up next, the Bobcats head to Oxford, Ohio on Saturday, Feb. 25 to take on Miami. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. inside Millett Hall and can be seen on ESPN3. 
 
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