MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Mike Kelley scored 17 points and Roy Boone made three free throws in the final seconds as No. 18 Wisconsin held off Northern Illinois, 68-64,
on Saturday (Nov. 25).
The Badgers, who led by as many as 18 points in the first half, saw the Huskies close to 65-64 on Al Sewasciuk's three free throws with 13.4 seconds remaining.
Boone hit two free throws with 5.4 seconds left to give Wisconsin a 67-64 lead. Boone then stole a long inbounds pass, was fouled and made one of two free throws.
Kirk Penney, who was held scoreless and missed all 16 field- goal attempts in the Badgers' opening loss at Tennessee, had 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Boone added
13 for Wisconsin (1-1).
Leon Rodgers led Northern Illinois (0-4) with 22 points, and Sewasciuk had 21. Sewasciuk, who had scored a total of just nine points in the Huskies' first three games,
was 5-of-8 from 3-point range.
The Badgers jumped out to an 11-0 lead, holding Northern Illinois scoreless for nearly eight minutes. The Huskies missed their first four field-goal attempts and
committed seven turnovers before Sewasciuk broke the drought with a 3-point basket.
Wisconsin, behind eight points from Boone and seven from Kelley, extended its lead to 24-6.
But the Huskies came to life late in the half, outscoring the Badgers 14-7 in the last five minutes to cut the halftime deficit to 36-28.
Wisconsin extended its lead to 41-28 on a basket by Penney and a 3-pointer by Charlie Wills to open the second half. But the Huskies charged back behind Mike
Brown, who scored all 10 of his points in the second half.