Talley, Eastern Michigan hold on, beat N. Illinois 73-65

Feb 21, 2015, 11:14 pm

DEKALB, Ill. -- Mike Talley scored 19 of his career-high 25 in the first half, and Karrington Ward added 21 points and nine rebounds as Eastern Michigan held off a second-half surge by Northern Illinois to win 73-65 on Saturday night.

Raven Lee had 11 of his 14 points in the second half for Eastern Michigan (17-10, 6-8 Mid-American), which led by as many as 19 in the first half.

Northern Illinois (10-15, 4-10), which trailed 40-24 at halftime, used a 15-4 run to pull within 46-41 with midway through the second. Two free throws by Aaron Armstead cut the Huskies' deficit to four with 3:12 remaining.

Brandon Nazione answered with a three-point play and Eastern Michigan made 10 of 14 free throws in the final 1:38 to seal it.

Anthony Johnson led Northern Illinois with a career-high 23 points.

There were 58 fouls and the teams combined to shoot 75 free throws.