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Men's Basketball hits road to take on Northern Illinois

By Jack Brewer For The Miami Student

The Miami University men's basketball team faces off against Northern Illinois Saturday. The RedHawks (6-12, 1-4 Mid-American Conference) are riding a four game losing streak following defeats on the road against the University at Buffalo 77-68 and at home, 69-58 to Western Michigan University. The RedHawks struggled offensively, shooting just 37 percent from the field against Buffalo and 35 percent against WMUBuffalo was led by a dominant performance by junior forward Justin Moss, who scored a game-high 31 points to go along with 15 rebounds. "At the end of the day, we were there, but we just had no answer for Moss," Miami head coach John Cooper said after the Buffalo game. "He just really controlled and dominated in the second half and we just could not answer what he was doing on the court." The Huskies (8-8, 2-3 MAC) are coming off a 64-61 win against the University of Akron. Junior guard Travon Baker led the way with 21 points and five assists. The RedHawks have been on the wrong end of close games several times this season, but the matchup with Northern Illinois might be one in which they get over the hump. Just last week the RedHawks stunned Eastern Michigan with an overtime victory, and they gave a valiant effort against Buffalo, one of the better teams in the MAC. "As you look around the league, there's quite a few good teams and I think it's going to be interesting," Cooper said. The RedHawks are vying for their second conference victory Saturday in the NIU Convocation Center. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.