N. Illinois rallies; beats Loyola of Chicago 55-49

CHICAGO (AP) — Travon Baker scored 14 points as Northern Illinois overcame a 28-14 halftime deficit to beat Loyola of Chicago 55-49 Wednesday night.

Darrell Bowie added 13 points and nine rebounds while Dontel Highsmith scored 10. Aaron Armstead chipped in 12 points off the bench.

Northern Illinois (4-5) shot a frigid 23 percent in the first half and dug themselves a 14-point deficit. Loyola (5-5) struggled in the second half, shooting 23.1 percent as NIU rallied.

Highsmith’s three-point play gave the Huskies a 39-38 lead with 6:54 left and capped a 13-3 run.

Bowie converted a three-point play with just less than two minutes left to give NIU a 46-44 lead. Baker drilled a 3-pointer on the next possession. Baker and Bowie went 6 of 6 from the free-throw line to ice the game.

Christian Thomas led the Ramblers with 16 points. Jeff White chipped in 14 while Milton Doyle added 10.