OXFORD, Ohio— Morgan Safford scored a career-high 27 points and added 10 rebounds, but Northern Illinois hung on to edge Miami 81-77 Tuesday night at Millett Hall. Anderson Mirambeaux put up 18 points for the RedHawks (7-11, 1-4 MAC), while Mekhi Lairy scored 15 and went over 1,500 for his career. David Coit had 21 points to lead four double-figure scorers for the Huskies (6-12, 2-3 MAC).

 HOW IT HAPPENED

• After some initial back-and-forth, the Huskies attempted to pull away at 14-8. Julian Lewis and Lairy responded by knocking down a pair of three-point shots to even the score at 14-14. Northern Illinois proceeded to go on a 10-2 run to stretch their lead to 24-16. Safford and Mirambeaux each recorded a layup to bring the RedHawks within 24-20 with 8:09 to play before intermission.
• The Huskies took their first double-digit lead of the game at 30-20. Safford went on to make back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to come within striking distance at 35-31. The Red and White entered halftime with their first lead since the beginning of the game at 40-39.
• The RedHawks trailed by one point after Ryan Mabrey made a jumper to bring the score to 49-48 with 16:31 to play. The Huskies made another attempt to extend their lead to double-digits at 59-50, but Miami thwarted the initial effort.
• Northern Illinois regained a double-digit lead at 67-56 with 6:43 on the game clock. The RedHawks came within five points at 72-67 after a collection of free throws and a Safford layup with 3:04 to play. Miami closed within two points in the closing minutes, but despite the strong effort, Northern Illinois won 81-77.

 
NOTES

• Lairy moved into eighth place on the program's career scoring list with 1,503 points, passing Landon Hackim (1993-96) and Archie Aldridge (1976-78).
• Lairy also climbed into the top five in program history in career assists with 389, moving past Darrian Ringo (2017-19) and Phil Lumpkin (1972-74).
• Safford recorded his second career double-double, with both coming in the past four games.
• Mirambeaux collected a career-high three steals.
• The RedHawks outscored the visitors 18-6 in points off turnovers.

 
UP NEXT:
Miami continues conference play by traveling to Bowling Green State University this Saturday, Jan. 21. Tip time is set for 5 p.m. in Bowling Green, Ohio.