Thornton scores 17 to lead N. Illinois past Kent St. 65-63

KENT, Ohio — Kaleb Thornton had 17 points as Northern Illinois narrowly beat Kent State 65-63. Trendon Hankerson made a pair of free throws that stretched the Northern Illinois (4-8, 1-1 Mid-American Conference) lead to 65-61 with 14 seconds remaining. Sincere Carry hit a jumper for Kent State with two seconds left to cap the scoring. Hankerson finished with 14 points. Chinedu Kingsley Okanu added 13 points for the Huskies. Carry had 16 points and six assists for the Golden Flashes (7-8, 2-3). Malique Jacobs added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Justyn Hamilton had 10 points.