CHARLESTON, Ill. (AP) Nakyel Shelton scored 26 points as Eastern Illinois Panthers beat Northern Illinois Huskies 72-59 on Friday night at the DePaul Classic.

Shelton also had six rebounds for the Panthers (2-5). Kooper Jacobi added 19 points while shooting 7 for 12 (1 for 3 from 3-point range) and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line while they also had 16 rebounds. Zion Fruster had 11 points and went 5 of 10 from the field (1 for 3 from 3-point range).

James Dent Jr. led the way for the Huskies (2-6) with 20 points, nine rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Quentin Jones added 11 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks for Northern Illinois. Tsvet Sotirov had nine points.

Eastern Illinois took the lead with 5:24 remaining in the first half and never looked back. Jacobi led their team in scoring with 10 points in the first half to help put them up 31-24 at the break. Eastern Illinois outscored Northern Illinois by six points in the second half, and Shelton scored a team-high 19 points in the second half to help their team secure the victory.

---

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Copyright 2025 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.