|
|
| NIU's Xavier Silas (left) looks to go to the basket while Buffalo's Calvin Betts provides pressure during the second half on Saturday at the Convocation Center in DeKalb. (Rob Winner – rwinner@daily-chronicle.com) |
DEKALB – Saturday’s contest against Buffalo was a game that the NIU men’s basketball team couldn’t afford to lose and stay in the hunt.
With road games against Akron and Kent State coming up, a victory over the visiting Bulls would have been huge before facing the top teams in the MAC East.
Even 27 points from Xavier Silas wasn’t enough, as NIU had trouble on the defensive end in a 95-83 loss in the first half of NIU’s “Cram the Convo” doubleheader.
“I thought our guys played extremely hard,” NIU head coach Ricardo Patton said. “I thought we did some good things out there. Unfortunately we played a very veteran, seasoned team that was on fire and they did a nice job.”
The Bulls (11-7, 4-3 MAC) were able to spread their scoring around and made their share of easy lay-ups, many of them via backdoor cuts.
“Just not enough communication,” Patton said. “That probably is the biggest thing, not enough communication out on the floor, and not enough anticipation of the back door cut even though they were doing it quite often and we certainly talked about it all game long.”
It’s the third time this season NIU (8-11, 4-3 MAC) has given up over 90 points, and the second game in a row. Ohio put up 99 points in a win over the Huskies on Wednesday.
“The last game out against Ohio I was more concerned with the defensive effort,” Patton said. “This game has more to do with the defensive smarts.”
After winning their first four MAC contests, the Huskies have now dropped three straight league games. It isn’t getting any easier, as NIU heads to state of Ohio for two games against the top teams in the MAC East, and the conference’s last two NCAA Tournament representatives.
The Huskies visit Kent State Monday and head to Akron for a Wednesday contest.
“Coming out of the Ohio game I tried to tell the guys in the locker room that we could easily go out on the road and lose a couple,” said NIU guard Mike DiNunno, who finished with 15 points. “The main thing I tried to stress was we needed to come into Saturday with a good head on our shoulders and try to fix some of the things that we had problems with in the Ohio game so we can go on the road on a good note.
“But we didn’t really do that so now it’s just all mental. The coaches have been stressing mental toughness on and off the floor and we have to be able to sustain that.”
