Scores

Final

N Illinois 61

(10-20, 5-11 MAC)

Kent St 64

(19-13, 10-6 MAC)

2:30 PM ET, March 10, 2009

Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH

1 2 T
NIU 37 2461
KENT 37 2764

Top Performers

Northern Illinois: M. Fakuade 8 Pts, 11 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 4 Blk

Kent State: A. Fisher 25 Pts, 4 Reb, 5 Ast, 2 Stl

Kent St. 64, N. Illinois 61

Associated Press

CLEVELAND -- Al Fisher scored 25 points, including two key scores in the final minutes, as Kent State rallied to beat Northern Illinois, 64-61 in the first round of the Mid-American Conference tournament Tuesday afternoon.

Kent State (19-13) trailed for most of the second period and was behind 58-52 with 5:55 left. But Julian Sullinger made a layup, Brandon Parks scored twice and Sullinger followed with two free throws to put the Golden Flashes in front with 2:45 remaining.

Fisher, the only Kent State player in double digits, followed with two jumpers to preserve the lead.

Jake Anderson scored 19 points and Mike DiNunno added 13 for Northern Illinois (10-20).

Kent State's Chris Singletary served a one-game suspension for punching an Akron player in Sunday's regular-season finale. The team's second-leading scorer is expected to return for Thursday's quarterfinal against Buffalo.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

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Team Stat Comparison

 
NIU
KENT
Points 61 64
FG Made-Attempted 23-57 (.404) 25-61 (.410)
3P Made-Attempted 9-16 (.563) 8-18 (.444)
FT Made-Attempted 6-12 (.500) 6-12 (.500)
Fouls (Tech/Flagrant) 17 (0/0) 17 (0/0)
Largest Lead 8 4

Game Leaders

 
NIU
KENT
PointsD. Anderson 19A. Fisher 25
ReboundsM. Fakuade 11A. Simpson 6
AssistsS. Smith 3A. Fisher 5
StealsD. Anderson 2A. Fisher 2
BlocksM. Fakuade 4A. Simpson 4
Team Stats: Northern Illinois | Kent State

2008-09 Season

DATEGAMELINKS
Feb 10, 2009 KENT 86, @NIU 83Recap
» Mar 10, 2009 @KENT 64, NIU 61Recap

Next 5 Games

NIU
KENT
11/13 @NW 8:00pm
11/17 @ILL 8:00pm
11/20 TNST 8:00pm
11/22 SEMO 4:30pm
11/28 @UNI 8:00pm
 03/12 @BUFF 2:30pm
03/17 @OAK 7:00pm
11/13 SAM 7:00pm
11/14 UAB 7:00pm
11/15 GB 4:00pm
Complete Schedule: Northern Illinois | Kent State