DeKALB, Ill. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team got out to a nine-point lead in the first half, but Northern Illinois came back to knock off the Broncos, 81-53, on Saturday afternoon at the NIU Convocation Center.  
 
Lamar Norman Jr. (12) and Seth Hubbard (11) both scored in double-figures for the Broncos (6-19, 2-10 MAC). Shemani Fuller came off of the WMU bench to grab a team-high six rebounds, one shy of his career high.
 
Western Michigan got off to a quick start, tallying the first six points of the afternoon. A trio of three-pointers helped the Broncos extend their advantage to 15-6 at the 13:56 mark. NIU (11-14, 7-5) responded with a 13-2 burst to take its first lead of the game, 19-17, just past the midway point of the first half.  
 
With the score tied at 22-22, the Huskies reeled off seven in a row to begin another 13-2 stretch which saw the hosts build a double-digit lead, 35-24, with two minutes remaining in the period. Northern Illinois took a 35-27 advantage into the halftime locker room.
 
A Norman layup got the second half started, but NIU notched the next eight points to extend its cushion out to 43-29 with 14:34 remaining. The Huskies tallied another seven consecutive points to stretch their lead out to 55-35 with just under 11 minutes to play. Western Michigan drew no closer than 15 the rest of the way.
 
The Broncos were held to 33.3 percent (18-of-54) shooting in the contest, while NIU connected on 52.5 percent (32-of-61) from the floor.
 
WMU returns to University Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 14, for a rematch against Kent State. Game time is set for 7 pm. To purchase tickets to any Western Michigan men's basketball home game this season, visit wmubroncos.com/tickets.