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The Northern Illinois Huskies just had their biggest win of the season and quite possibly of the last five years. The Huskies squared off against Akron on Saturday afternoon needing a victory after five straight defeats. The Huskies used a balanced effort and a breakout game from Aaric Armstead to squeak by the Zips. The Huskies will look to improve to 15-1 in at the convocation center. The team standing in their way is the Bowling Green Falcons who started off 2-2 in conference play, but have limped to a 2-6 stretch with a current five game losing streak.
The Falcons are led by Spencer Parker and Zack Denny. Parker is in his senior season for the Falcons and recently made it over 1,000 points for his career and is currently at 1,033. The forward is shooting 47% from the field and 43% from three while only shooting 69% from the free throw line. Parker contributed big in his last two games putting up 39 points, nine rebounds and four assists. He'll be someone the Huskies focus in on as he's a dual threat from beyond the arc and inside the paint. Denny is a junior from Germantown, Ohio and he's averaging almost a double-double with 12 points and seven rebounds. He had his worst game of the season thus far against WMU on Saturday going 0 for 6 from the field and only two rebounds. He certainly will be motivated to get back on track against a conference opponent.
A big reason why NIU showcased a great effort against Akron was the play of Marin Maric. He contributed 17 points and 11 rebounds it was one of his most aggressive games of the season. Maric did take 17 shots and only made six but his aggression and the quality of his shots outweighed his shooting percentage.