Recap: Western Mich vs. Northern Ill

Kalamazoo, MI (Sports Network) - Shayne Whittington finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocks as the Western Michigan Broncos rallied back to defeat the Northern Illinois Huskies, 66-58, in a Mid-American Conference bout at University Arena.

Connar Tava chipped in 12 points and eight boards for WMU (16-9, 8-4 MAC) as it snapped a two-game losing streak. Austin Richie added 11 points and David Brown scored 10 in 18 minutes off the bench.

Aksel Bolin tallied 10 points for NIU (5-14, 3-9) as it lost its fifth consecutive contest. Darrell Bowie pulled down six rebounds but committed five of the Huskies' 14 turnovers.

NIU played very well in the early portion of game as it connected on 54.2 percent of its field goal tries including 5-of-6 from distance. The Broncos went into the intermission trailing, 37-32, despite converting all nine of their attempts at the free-throw line.

WMU connected on just 39.1 percent of its field goal attempts after the break, but it held the Huskies to 4-of-20 shooting from the floor to overcome a deficit that was once as great as 10 points. NIU held a 58-50 lead with 4:01 left in regulation, but it watched its lead slip away as it failed to produce another point the rest of the way.

The Broncos held a narrow, 32-31 edge in the rebounding battle and both sides scored 18 points in the paint.