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DeKALB, Ill. – The Ohio men's basketball team (13-11, 5-6 MAC) returned to action on Tuesday night, defeating Northern Illinois (10-14, 6-5 MAC), 82-76, inside the NIU Convocation Center. 
 
Overall, Ohio shot 50.9 percent from the field, 45.5 percent from three and were 16-of-20 from the line, while NIU shot 45.9 percent from the field, 26.3 percent from three and were 15-of-23 from the line. Ohio out-rebounded Ohio 39-30, while Ohio dished out 14 assists to NIU's 13.
 
Individually, the Bobcats were led by junior guard Jaylin Hunter (Manchester, Conn.) with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists, followed by senior guard Miles Brown (Rochester, N.Y.) with 16 points and seven boards, followed by graduate student forward Dwight Wilson III (Tallahassee, Fla.) with 13 points and eight boards. Freshman guard Elmore James (Cleveland, Ohio) added 13 points, and senior guard DeVon Baker (Dayton, Ohio) added nine points. 
 
NIU won the tip and got on the board first before a layup from Wilson III tied the game at 2-2 early. After NIU went up 6-2, a three and a layup from Brown put the Bobcats up 7-6 going into the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, a three from NIU put the Huskies up two, before Brown matched it with his own three. After both teams traded baskets, a layup and a free throw from Baker put the Bobcats up two, however, NIU then went on an 8-0 run before a layup from Baker cut the Ohio deficit to 21-17 going into the under-12 media timeout.
 
After a jumper from Hunter and a free throw from senior forward Ben Roderick (Powell, Ohio) cut the NIU lead to one, the Huskies would take a three-point lead after hitting two free throws on their own. Moments later, a three from Hunter tied the game at 23-23. However, NIU matched it with a three of their one, but James responded with his first three of the night to tie the game at 26-26 with 7:36 remaining in the first half. Over the next four minutes, both teams traded baskets before a three from NIU put the Huskies up one, however moments later, a layup from Wilson III gave Ohio a one-point lead going into the final media timeout of the half. 
 
After NIU re-took the lead on free throws, Baker gave Ohio the lead back with his own free throws. Moments later, a layup from Wilson III and a three from James put Ohio up six, forcing an NIU timeout. After a jumper from Baker gave Ohio an eight-point lead, NIU stopped the run with a jumper, however a Roderick three with 40 seconds left gave the Bobcats a 46-39 lead going into the half. 
 
At the half, Ohio shot 56.3 percent from the field, 50 percent from three and were 4-of-5 from the line, while NIU shot 51.7 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from three and were 5-of-8 from the line. Ohio out-rebounded NIU, 21-9 with eight offensive rebounds, while both teams dished out nine assists. 
 
Individually, Baker led Ohio with nine points, followed by Brown with eight and Wilson III with eight points and seven rebounds. 
 
Ohio opened the half with three points to take a 10-point lead, before NIU cut the lead to seven. However, moments later, a three from Brown gave Ohio a 52-42 lead going into the first media timeout of the half. Out of the timeout, NIU cut the Ohio lead to six, before a three from Roderick put Ohio up, nine. A 5-0 run the NIU cut the Ohio lead to four, before a layup from Wilson III and five-straight points from Hunter – including a three – gave the Bobcats a 62-51 lead with 11:20 remaining in the game.  Out of the timeout, NIU went on a 4-0 run to cut the Ohio lead to seven going into the under-12 media timeout. 
 
After NIU cut the Ohio lead down to six, the Bobcats would go on to take a 10-point lead thanks to free throws from Brown and a layup from Wilson III with seven minutes to go. NIU would go on to cut the lead back to six, before James hit two free throws. Brown would go on to hit two more free throws before a three from Hunter gave Ohio a 75-76 lead with 3:45 remaining. Out of the timeout, NIU went on an 8-2 run to cut the Ohio lead to three with 1:17 remaining in the game. After NIU cut it to three, the Bobcats were able to capitalize on free throws down the stretch, securing the 82-76 win. 
 
For NIU, Kaleb Thornton scored 21 points, while Zarique Nutter added nine rebounds
 
Up next, the Bobcats are back in Athens Friday, Feb. 10 when they host Akron. 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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