With help from a strong bench and the “energy guy,” the NIU men’s basketball team found themselves in the win column for the second straight time.

The Huskies notched a commanding 63-52 victory over Air Force in front of 1,169 at the Convocation Center Tuesday night.

Junior Guard Jarvis Nichols led the way for NIU (2-6), providing 18 points off the bench and swiping four steals.

Guard Jeremy Landers poured in 14 points for the Huskies, shooting 4-7 from the field in his 34 minutes of play. The freshman, dubbed the “energy guy,” also picked up three offensive rebounds and swiped two steals.

“I just came out and played hard and played my role: The energy guy,” Landers said.

“I’m just very proud of the young men and their poise in winning a very tough basketball game against a really good Air Force team,” said NIU head coach Ricardo Patton. “Against a team that’s obviously deadly from the outside, I think our defense was pretty solid.”

Air Force came into Tuesday’s contest shooting 45.2 percent from the field, however NIU limited the Falcons to a 37 percent field goal percentage.

The Huskies had total command of the game in the first half. NIU went 11-19 from the field and headed to the locker room at halftime with a 31-26 lead.

“I thought our team played very uncharacteristically and we were very fortunate to be in the game down the stretch like we were,” said Air Force head coach Jeff Reynolds. “I thought our kids were rushing things and were playing not to lose instead of playing to win.”

Forward Sean Smith also provided scoring off the bench for NIU. The junior went 5-8 from the field for 10 points. NIU’s bench out-scored the Falcons’ 34-7 Tuesday.

“We got great contribution from our guys coming in,” Patton said. “We need consistent contribution from our guys coming in for us.”

Clutch free throw shooting was key down the stretch for the Huskies. Nichols nailed all 10 of his free throw attempts and the Huskies went 18-27 at the charity stripe.

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