Donnell Thomas, Donald Whiteside, Antwon Harmon, Andrew Wells and Stacy Arrington say goodbye to Evans Field House Monday night.
The five Northern Illinois seniors have helped build an average basketball program into one of the top 50 in the country. They have brought excitement back to De Kalb, where the Huskies are 23-2 over the last two seasons.
They have played before crowds of 723 and a fieldhouse-record 6,261. Their just reward would be to play before one last packed house.
”These seniors have given a lot to our program,” said second-year coach Jim Molinari. ”I hope people come out.”
They won`t be disappointed.
Monday`s NIU-Akron game is the next-to-last game for each team before the Mid-Continent Conference tournament begins Sunday in Green Bay, Wis. Northern (21-4, 12-2) is clinging to a one-game lead over Wisconsin-Green Bay in the fight for the top seed.
Also on the line for the Huskies is a school-record 22nd win. They tied the 1971-72 team`s mark of 21 with a 65-48 victory Saturday over Cleveland State.
Molinari has talked to his players a lot in the last week ”about where they are and where I am,” he said. ”The pressure tends to build.”
Part of the pressure is all of the talk around campus about an NCAA berth. A conference tournament title would clinch a spot in the 64-team field.