Bradley, James help N. Illinois beat W. Illinois 91-76

Dec 18, 2018, 04:14 am

DEKALB, Ill. -- Levi Bradley had 18 points, on 7-of-10 shooting, and nine rebounds, senior Lacey James had his third career double-double, and Northern Illinois beat Western Illinois 91-76 on Monday night.

James finished with a career-high tying 17 points and 10 boards. Eugene German made 7 of 9 from the field, including four 3-pointers and scored 10 points for Northern Illinois (6-4). It was the 89th meeting between the two programs that are fewer than 200 miles apart, but the first since 2008 and just the second since 1994. Western Illinois (4-8) leads the all-time series 50-39.

German hit two free throws that gave the Huskies the lead for good during an 18-3 run that made it 42-30. Bradley's layup started the spurt, and James added two 3-pointers before his layup capped it with 59 seconds left in the first half. The Leathernecks trailed by double figures throughout the second half and German's 3-pointer with 4:27 to play gave NIU its biggest lead at 79-56.

Kobe Webster hit five 3-pointers and scored a season-high 26 points -- one shy of his career best -- for Western Illinois. Zion Young added 14 points.