DeKALB, Ill. -- Northern Illinois' four-of-19 shooting in the second half was certainly not a winning recipe.
It's sterling performance from the free-throw line, however, proved much more appetizing.
The Huskies made 28 of 31 from the line, including their last 18 points of the game, to hold off Ball State (13-12, 8-8 in the Mid-American Conference) for 70-67 at the Convocation Center.
Leading the foul-shot brigade for NIU was Todd Peterson, who made all 13 attempts on his way to a game-high 26 points.
"When they win, he averages 18, and when they lose, he averages eight," Ball State coach Tim Buckley said of Peterson. "We knew we were in trouble when he had 15 at halftime."
Northern staved off a pair of Ball State rallies earlier in the second half and was up 63-56 with 1:40 to go when the Cardinals made their last push.
Terrance Chapman made a pair of free throws, then scored down low after NIU's Mike McKinney split a par from the line, making it 64-60 with 58.5 seconds left.
Northern then turned it over on the inbounds pass, and Peyton Stovall fed Anthony Kent in the paint for a basket with 50 seconds left.
But Stovall fouled Anthony Maestranzi who made a pair of free throws with 49.1 remaining. Maestranzi and McKinney combined for four more free throws to secure the victory for NIU (11-15, 7-10 in the MAC).
Skip Mills and Stovall hit jumpers to start the second half, bringing Ball State within 39-37, but Northern scored the next 11 points. After that, the Cards got within four just once (52-48) before the final minutes.
"We couldn't get over the hump and get the lead," Stovall, who made six of eight 3-pointers in a 22-point, five-assist performance, said. "We didn't execute on either side. We didn't do that. We need to do that for 40 minutes, and we only did it for 30. We took to long to get our heads into the game."
Actually, Ball State was up 21-16, thanks to Stovall's pass to Mills for an alley-oop dunk.
Northern than reeled of 15 unanswered points, including eight from 6-foot-8 Peterson.
Ball State closed to 39-33 by halftime on back-to-back 3-pointers from Stovall.
"Peyton did a great job spearheading the defensive effort," Buckley said of the sophomore point guard. "He couldn't get the others to come along at first."
"They had a stretch where they scored on nine straight possessions. We can't allow that to happen when we come into a road environment."
Dennis Trammell, BSU's leading scorer who had missed the previous two games with a sore heel, started but came out after five scoreless minutes. He did not play again as his heel flared up.
"I'm very disappointed for him, because no one deserves it more than him," Buckley said of Trammel, who he called the team's "heart and soul."
Mills finished with 15 points, but he and Darren Yates combined to make just one-of-12 three-point attempts. Chapman scored just seven points on two-of-nine shooting. He and Kent grabbed six rebounds a piece for the Cards, who all but eliminated themselves from any chance of a West Division title.
McKinney scored 12 points and James Hughes added 10 for the Huskies.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
