Men's Basketball Season Ends With 83-81 Double Overtime Loss to NIU

Friday, March 7

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

7:00 PM

Central Michigan University

14-17,7-11MAC

Northern Illinois

6-25,2-16MAC

OT 1

OT 2

NIU

Central Mich.

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Team Stats

NIU

CMU

FG%

.409

.429

3FG%

.375

.444

FT%

.680

.644

STL

Cayden Vasko

/ Men's Basketball

Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography

Photo by: Lauren Verellen '26 - @laurenverellen_photography

Photo by: Madison Davidson '25 - @_mld.jpeg

Men's Basketball Season Ends With 83-81 Double Overtime Loss to NIU

3/7/2025 10:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Full Game Book (PDF)Photo Gallery

Jakobi Heady leads Chippewas with 20 points, Ugnius Jarusevicius and Kyler VanderJagt both finish with 17; Anthony Pritchard and Jakobi Heady are honored on Senior Night.

By: Greg Hotchkiss

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.—James Dent Jr. hit a game-winning shot with one second left in double overtime and also scored a career and game-high 36 points as Northern Illinois outlasted Central Michigan in claiming an 83-81 double overtime men's basketball victory Friday night at McGuirk Arena.

The loss eliminates Central Michigan from postseason play and its season ends with a 14-17 overall record and 7-11 MAC record. The Chippewas needed a win over the last place Huskies (6-25 overall, 2-16 MAC) to advance to the 2025 MAC Tournament for the third time in four years. Northern Illinois entered the game on an 11-game losing streak and 0-15 record on the road. Their last win was on Jan. 25 against Ball State.

In the second overtime, the teams traded leads until Northern Illinois' David Mack hit a 3-pointer and then followed with a driving layup for a four point lead (81-77) with 1:30 to play. But Central Michigan answered with a Jakobi Heady tipin layup and Anthony Pritchard scored on pull-up jumper in the paint with 17 seconds to play to tie the game at 81-81. NIU ran the clock down to one second when Dent threw a shot toward the basket that looked like a pass and it went in. The Chippewas had one second left and a long inbounds pass to the other end of the court missed its mark.

The slow-paced game featured clutch plays on both sides. Dent tied the game at 68-68 and sent the game into overtime when he converted a floating jumper with 11 seconds to play in regulation. The Chippewas sent the game into double overtime when Kyler VanderJagt drove the lane and found DeCorion Temple for a layup with 1:16 left in first overtime.

Five players fouled out of the game and the contest featured a combined 47 fouls, 70 free throws, and 37 turrnovers. The game also featured 11 ties and 12 lead changes. Northern Illinois led for the majority of the game.

Last place Northern Illinois hit 12 3-pointers and answered every time Central Michigan built a lead. Dent hit 9-20 field goals, 6-15 3-pointers, 12-17 free throws, and grabbed nine rebounds for the visiting Huskies. Joe Munden Jr. added 13 points and Kailon Nicholls finished with 10.

The Chippewas built their largest lead of the game at four points (66-62) with 1:12 to play in regulation, but Dent scored the final six points over the last minute to send it into overtime.

Central Michigan went to the free throw line 45 times and made 29. In the first half, the Chippewas got off to a slow start with 28 percent shooting (7-25), trailed by as many as 10 points, but cut the Huskies' lead down to a manageable five points at halftime.

Jakobi Heady led Central Michigan with 20 points on 14-18 free throw shooting, Ugnius Jarusevicius and Kyler VanderJagt both scored 17 points, Cayden Vasko finished with 13, and Anthony Pritchard added 10. Jakobi Heady and Pritchard were honored in a pre-game Senior Night ceremony.

"In life and in basketball, you get exactly what you deserve," Central Michigan Head Coach Tony Barbee said. "We deserved that tonight with our lack of attention to detail, our lack of urgency, our lack of toughness. You get exactly what you deserve and in basketball. It's disappointing."

Central Michigan trailed 30-25 at halftime after Pritchard threw down a dunk off a fast break. The Chippewas shot just 28 percent (7-25) in the first half and trailed for 19 of the 20 minutes.

Northern Illinois jumped out to a 13-4 lead through the game's first five minutes. The Huskies went up 20-10 on a corner 3-pointer by Nicholls and hook shot by Munden at the 12:02 mark. NIU went up 24-14 with 8:30 to play in the first half on baskets by Steven Tipton and Mo Sall.

After trailing by eight points, the Chippewas closed the gap to five on a Jakobi Heady free throw and Pritchard dunk.

Central Michigan scored the first six points of the second half as Jakobi Heady hit a free throw, Pritchard completed a 3-point play and Heady followed with two free throws to go up 31-30.

Central Michigan was in the bonus early in the second half. A Jarusevicius turnaround layup tied the game at 39-39 at the 14:50 mark. Vasko gave the Chippewas the lead again, 41-39 with a finish off a tough offensive rebound.

A tip-in basket by Quentin Heady with 3:26 to play gave CMU a late lead.

Playing in his last game at Central Michigan, Pritchard was thankful to everyone who supported him during his two-year career. He concludes his career ranked No. 10 in career assists (305) and ranked No. 6 in season assists (169) and No. 5 in season steals (60). The only player in program history to register a triple double, Pritchard concluded his four-year career with 1,082 points, 472 assists, 425 rebounds, and 161 steals.

"It meant a lot being the last home game and last game I'll ever play," Pritchard said. "I'm thankful for everyone that came out. My favorite moment was being able to learn from Coach Barbee. He taught me a lot as a player and as a person in general. I'll leave here as a better man."

The Chippewas started Quentin Heady, Jakobi Heady, Ugnius Jarusevicius, Anthony Pritchard and Cayden Vasko.

—CMU—

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Team Stats

Game Leaders

Jakobi Heady

Kyler VanderJagt

Ugnius Jarusevicius

Cayden Vasko

Players Mentioned

Jakobi Heady

Quentin Heady

Ugnius Jarusevicius

Anthony Pritchard

DeCorion Temple

Kyler VanderJagt

Cayden Vasko

Men's Basketball Season Ends With 83-81 Double Overtime Loss to NIU

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