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OXFORD, Ohio --Behind a balanced scoring attack that included four double-figure scorers and drilling a season-best 10 3-pointers, the Miami University men's basketball team picked up its first win in Mid-American Conference action on Saturday afternoon inside Millett Hall. Senior guard Geovonie McKnight led a quartet RedHawks in double figures with 18 points as Miami (7-14; 1-7 MAC) downed Northern Illinois University (16-5; 5-3 MAC), 72-59, to snap a 10-game skid for the RedHawks and hand the MAC West Division-leading Huskies their second-straight loss.

McKnight scored 16 of his 18 points over the final 20 minutes to fuel a 37-point second half for Miami. Joining McKnight in double figures were sophomore forward Rod Mills and sophomore guard Ali Barnes with 11 points apiece, and sophomore guard Dion Wade, who added 10 points in the winning effort. Wade also amassed five blocked shots against the Huskies, which tied for fifth on Miami's single-game list.

Sparked by a triple and a jumper from Mills and a jumper by McKnight, Miami opened up an early 7-2 lead just over two minutes into the game. A 5-0 flurry by sophomore forward Logan McLane pushed the RedHawk advantage to eight by the 13:49 mark, 15-7. After a triple from sophomore guard Abdoulaye Harouna again put Miami ahead by an eight-point margin with just over 12 minutes to play, 18-10, NIU whittled away at the RedHawk lead, shrinking the gap one point with 5:47 to go in the half, 26-25.

Miami pushed ahead to a 29-25 lead with a pair of free throws from senior forward LJ Livingston Jr. and a free throw from senior forward Chris Bryant. NIU responded with a 6-0 spurt to take its first lead of the game with 2:35 remaining, 31-29, but Miami fired back with its own 6-0 run to take a 35-31 lead with 42 seconds left in the half. NIU's Aaric Armstead knocked down a trey with 25 seconds remaining to shrink the Miami lead to one going into the half, 35-34.

Without senior guard Eric Washington, who was sidelined for the second-straight game due to a lower leg injury, and then sophomore guard Zach McCormick who left the game late in the first half after taking a charge, sophomore guard Ali Barnes ran the point for MU throughout much of the second half. Barnes came out firing and drained three triples in the first three minutes of the second stanza. His efforts along with six points from McKnight pushed Miami's lead to nine with 15:57 to play, 50-41.

NIU chiseled away at the RedHawk lead, closing to within two with just under 11 minutes to play, 51-49. Draining three unanswered treys to fuel a 9-0 run, Miami pushed its lead to double figures with 8:09 to go, 60-49. Mills ignited the run with a trey and Wade followed with back-to-back triples for the RedHawks. The Huskies used an 8-0 spurt to close within four by the 4:56 mark, 61-57. McKnight halted the NIU surge with a jumper with 3:48 to play, the RedHawks' first bucket in over four minutes. After drawing a charge, McKnight then hit another jumper to give Miami a 65-57 lead with 3:08 to play. Four free throws from McKnight pushed Miami's lead to double figures with 2:11 to play, 69-59.

A jumper by McKnight and a made free throw by Mills would be the only other scoring as Miami closed out the contest and seized the double-digit win.

Miami shot 46 percent from the field and held a slight edge in rebounding, 34-31. The RedHawks were 10-of-21 from behind the arc, while the Huskies were just 10-of-29.

Marshawn Wilson came off the bench for the Huskies to lead all players with 24 points, while Armstead added 19 points for NIU.

Miami hits the road for a 7 p.m. game at Eastern Michigan on Tuesday, Feb. 2.