Northern Illinois easily dispatches Western Michigan 76-67

DEKALB, Ill. (AP) Aaric Armstead scored 18 points, Marin Maric added 16, and Northern Illinois dominated Western Michigan 76-67 on Saturday.

Armstead made four 3-pointers and Maric totaled six blocks for Northern Illinois (19-10, 8-8 Mid-American Conference). Each player collected nine rebounds.

The Huskies raced to a 38-19 halftime lead, and they continued to pile on early in the second half, with Levi Bradley's 3-pointer pushing the advantage to 27 with 11:47 remaining.

Western Michigan cut the lead to nine with 1:15 left, and Tucker Haymond's layup made it an eight-point game with 21 seconds left, but the Broncos never mounted a series challenge.

Thomas Wilder had 15 points on 6-of-21 shooting to go with six steals, six assists and five rebounds for Western Michigan (11-18, 5-11). The Broncos shot 38 percent from the field and 1 of 12 on 3-pointers.