Northern Illinois beats Akron 83-74

Posted January 25, 2011 10:00 pm

Associated Press

DeKALB. — Xavier Silas scored 39 points Wednesday night to lead Northern Illinois to an 83-74 victory over Akron.

Silas, who had a 40-point game earlier this season against Illinois-Chicago, was 9 for 17 from the field, making five of his nine 3-point attempts, and 16 for 20 from the free-throw line for Northern Illinois (7-11, 3-3 Mid-American). The 6-foot-5 senior entered Wednesday fourth in the nation in scoring with 23.6 points per game.

Nate Rucker and Antone Christian added 13 points each for the Huskies, and Tim Toler grabbed 12 rebounds.

Northern Illinois led 39-32 at halftime and by as many as 19 points in the second half.

Nikola Cvetinovic led Akron (11-9, 2-4) with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Brett McClanahan, who made all five of his field goals from 3-point range, added 15 points for the Zips. Steve McNees, Darryl Roberts and Brett McKnight scored 10 points apiece.

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