The Chicago State men's basketball team lost to Northern Illinois 70-59 Monday afternoon at the Jones Convocation Center in Chicago. Playing their second game in three days, the Cougars jumped out to an early 10-0 lead, holding the Huskies scoreless over the first five minutes of the game. NIU cut that to five by half time and went on a 17-3 run to open the second half, and a 39-30 lead, leaving CSU to play catch up for the remainder of the game.
With the loss, the Cougars drop consecutive games at home for the first time this season and fall to 3-7 while the Huskies improve to 3-6.
Brandon Betson led three Cougars in double figures with 13, while
Jahsean Corbett added 11 and J.J. Harris 10.
Corbett opened the scoring in the contest, knocking down back-to-back three pointers while
Coreyoun Rushin and Betson each added a bucket for the early 10-0 lead. After the Huskies got on the board at the 15:01 mark, NIU scored consecutive baskets to cut the lead in half, 10-5. Betson and Rushin countered with a three and layup, respectively, to extend the lead and Rushin's layup started a 6-0 run and a 19-7 lead.
Following a Huskies basket,
Dominique Alexander converted a driving layup, was fouled and made the free throw and the Cougars had what would be their largest lead of the game, 13 points, 22-9.
CSU eventually got the lead to 27-16 but failed to score in the final 3:46 of the first half and made only five of 12 free throws. The Huskies scored the final six points of the half to go in trailing 27-22 at the halftime break.
Corbett started the second half for the Cougars similar to how he started the first, getting the Cougars on the board but NIU then went on a 17-1 run to turn a 29-22 deficit into a 39-30 lead.
Favour Chukwukelu stopped the run for CSU with a three then Betson made a pair from the free throw line to extend the run to 5-0 and a four-point deficit, 39-35.
NIU countered with an 11-3 run, the last four coming via the free throw line and the Huskies led 50-38 and CSU wouldn't get closer than nine the rest of the way. Following the eight-minute media timeout, the teams would combine for 46 points, with 25 coming from the free throw line. The Huskies outscored the Cougars from the line 16-9 in the final eight minutes with 12 of their last 14 points coming via free throws.
About Chicago State
Chicago State University Athletics is comprised of 15 intercollegiate teams involving over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. CSU held memberships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and NCAA Division II before transitioning to NCAA Division I in 1994. Melvin Bland was the first CSU student-athlete to gain NAIA All-American status in 1974 as a wrestler. Fred Evans became the first black swimmer ever to win a national championship in 1975. CSU's women's basketball team earned a spot in the 2011 Women's Basketball Invitational and CSU's men's basketball team won the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament title and made an appearance in the CollegeInside.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). The Men's Outdoor Track & Field 4x100-Meter Relay team were 2019 Honorable Mention All-Americans and WAC Champions. Their feat marked the first time the Chicago State's men's track & field program was represented at the national meet. In 2021, three different CSU teams earned victories over Big Ten opponents with men's soccer beating Northwestern, women's basketball upending Wisconsin and volleyball, which established a school record 17 wins and hosted a post-season volleyball tournament for the first time in program history, swept Indiana in Bloomington.
Follow the Cougars
For complete coverage of Chicago State University athletics, follow us on social media @ChiStateCougars (Twitter), @ChiStateCougars (Instagram), /ChiStateCougars (Facebook), or visit the official home of Chicago State athletics at GoCSUCougars.com.
