DEKALB, Ill. (AP) – Noah McCarty banked in a game-winning basket with 2 seconds to play, and Northern Illinois upset No. 14 Buffalo 77-75 on Tuesday night.
The Huskies reserve took a feed from Trendon Hankerson for the layup seconds after Buffalo had tied the game on a 3-pointer by C.J. Massinburg.
Dante Thorpe scored 23 points and Eugene German added 20 as Northern Illinois (11-8, 4-2 Mid-American Conference) ended a two-game skid and claimed its first home win over a ranked team since 1972.
Massinburg scored 23 points for the Bulls (17-2, 5-1 MAC), who saw their seven-game winning streak snapped. Jeremy Harris had 15 points, Nick Perkins added 12 and Jayvon Graves scored 10.
Northern Illinois’ last win over a ranked team anywhere was in 1973 over Oral Roberts at the Chicago Stadium. A year earlier, the Huskies beat No. 5 Indiana in DeKalb.
The Huskies led 73-66 with 1:26 remaining before Massinburg rallied Buffalo by scoring nine points in just over a minute, hitting two 3-pointers and making three free throws. Northern Illinois’ biggest lead was 10 points early in the second half.
