There were plenty of fun takeaways from today’s men’s basketball game in Ypsilanti, Mich., in which Northern Illinois fell to Eastern Michigan by an astounding score of 42-25.
Northern Illinois athletics site spins 25-point performance
When you only manage 25 points in a game, it might sometimes be tough to find the silver lining. Not so for the Northern Illinois Huskies, whose Sports Information Department might have come up with the best game recap of all time.
You could point out that the Huskies scored just four points in the first half, a shot-clock era low. You could also mention that the previous low was five points set by ... Northern Illinois earlier this season, according to ESPN.
Or, you could forget the Huskies’ historic 13.1-percent performance from the field and focus on their incredible defensive performance, the likes of which DeKalb, Ill., has not seen since 2006.
The Sports Information Department at Northern Illinois elected to do just that. Here are some highlights:
Of course, the headline:
Huskies Fall at Eastern Michigan
NIU posts best defensive effort since 2005-06, allowing just 42 points
But really, what good is a headline if it isn’t followed up with a lead that tells you everything you need to know?
Northern Illinois posted its best defensive effort in seven seasons allowing just 42 points on Saturday afternoon, but it came in a losing effort as the Huskies fell to Eastern Michigan, 42-25, at the EMU Convocation Center.
Really, guys! Just forget about our scoring 25 points and just four in the first half, and look at the 42 we gave up. It’s been seven whole years since we’ve been that good!
To be fair though, game recaps are always stronger when they include coach quotes that really don’t sugar-coat things.
“Our guys played hard,” said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. “Unfortunately, we just couldn’t make a shot. We just needed someone to make a basket to get our team going, but I wouldn’t say that we were taking bad shots. We had makeable, open shots, they just wouldn’t go in, but our guys kept defending, kept playing hard.”
But seriously, forget about the shooting struggles for a second. In reality, the offense wasn’t that bad.
Northern Illinois turned the ball over a season-low eight times in the contest and pulled down a season-high 23 offensive rebounds
Then, we finish on a strong note with some more historical context.
The last time the Huskies held an opponent to 42-or-fewer points came in a 62-42 victory over Wright State on Dec. 13, 2005.
Well done, Northern Illinois. Well done.
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