DeKalb, IL—The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team overcame 24 turnovers and a 26-8 scoring deficit at the free throw line to force overtime Friday evening, but Northern Illinois scored seven of the game's final nine points to escape with a 72-67 win.

The Highlanders trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half and by nine at intermission, but Taylor Johns came alive after the break scoring all of his game-high 19 points following the first 20 minutes of action. His hot shooting helped spearhead UC Riverside's comeback as the Highlanders made 62.5 percent of their shots from the field in the second half (15 of 24).

UCR also turned up the intensity on defense holding the Huskies to 26.1 percent shooting in the second, but NIU was able to keep the Highlanders at arms length by taking 20 free throws to just five trips to the charity stripe for UC Riverside. The Highlanders finally took their first lead of the game, 47-46, with 9:33 to go in the second, on a Nick Gruninger three-pointer.

It was a 56-52 UCR advantage with less than two minutes remaining, but back-to-back NIU three-pointers put the Huskies back on top. A Johns' layup with 33 seconds to go tied the score, and proved to be the final points of regulation.

The teams scored on alternating possessions throughout the first three-plus minutes of overtime, but the Huskies scored seven of the final nine points of the game, five of which came from the free throw line, to pull ahead for good.

Steven Jones (14 points) and Jaylen Bland (13) joined Johns in double figures, while Anthony Johnson's 18 points and Travon Baker's 15 paced the Huskies.

UC Riverside remains on the road this weekend traveling to Phoenix Arizona Sunday for a 3 pm PT tip at Grand Canyon