There wasn’t much to be thankful for during Thanksgiving Break for the NIU men’s basketball team.

The Huskies (0-6) lost two games, including their home opener, over the five-day break.

“Certainly it’s a very disappointing performance,” NIU head coach Ricardo Patton said. “The only way I know to get better is to continue to work.”

NIU’s first loss came on the final of five straight road games as Indiana State (3-2) beat NIU 75-65 in Terre Haute, Ind.

Huskie guard Jake Anderson led the team with 23 points and forward Egan Grafel added another 11 in the loss.

Going 0-5 on the road, NIU returned to DeKalb on Saturday for its home opener. However, Stephen F. Austin (4-1), defeated NIU 74-50.

SFA jumped to an early 6-0 lead, forcing Patton to take a time out.

The Lumberjacks began to separate themselves until freshman guard Michael Patton entered the game in the middle of the first half.

The guard scored seven points as NIU completed a 9-2 run to get within two points of SFA. However, the Lumberjacks responded by producing an 8-0 run of their own.

The first half was about to come to a close when NIU guard Ryan Paradise was injured. The senior left with a fractured nose.

Down 37-29 at the half, NIU responded with a 12-4 run to open the second half. Again the game was within two points for NIU.

But the Lumberjacks again pulled away from the Huskies, this time for good. SFA would go on a 31-9 run to finish the second half.

“We hit some big shots at a time where they cut it to 43-41,” SFA coach Danny Kaspar said. “It seems at that juncture that the air just went out of themselves. That they fought so hard just to get to that point.”

Grafel was the only NIU player to reach double digits, as he scored 11 points. The senior also blocked five shots in the loss.

SFA had three players score in the double digits, including guard Eric Bell who had a double-double. The sophomore scored 18 points along with 11 assists.

Once again turnovers were an issue for NIU. The Huskies committed 16 turnovers compared to 13 by the Lumberjacks in the loss.

“As a coach you have to go back and reevaluate how you are playing,” Patton said. “Maybe there’s a better style of play that’s suited for these guys. And that’s certainly what we’ll do. We’ll spend this weekend looking at film.”

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