Ball State Cardinals vs. Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball recap: NIU outshoots Cards, improves to 17-1 at home

In the quest for 20 regular season wins against two squads far exceeding preseason expectations, there could only be one.

Northern Illinois (20-11, 9-9) continued its home court dominance Friday night, knocking off Ball State (19-12, 10-8)  80-69 in the regular season finale for both teams. The Huskies improved to 17-1 at the Convocation Center.

The Huskies lit the nets on fire from deep against the Cardinals, connecting on 14 of 24 three-point attempts. That's the most triples NIU has hit in a game all season, and the 80 ties a season high in conference play.

Aaric Armstead led the way for Northern Illinois. Armstead scored a team high 14 points and pulled down 7 rebounds. Five Huskies scored in double figures.

Franko House turned in another impressive performance for Ball State. House poured in 19 points on 7 of 11 shooting. Bo Calhoun led the Cardinals on the glass with a game high 10 rebounds. All but three points on Friday were scored by Ball State starters.

The second sloppiest team in the MAC was against bitten by the turnover bug. Three days after turning the ball over a season low three times against Central Michigan, Ball State coughed up possession thirteen times.

Both teams will now turn their focus to MAC tournament play. Northern Illinois will host a first round game on Monday. Ball State enters the tourney a six-seed and will host a game at Worthen Arena on Monday.