Walker's 31 pts lead Kent State past N Illinois 78-68

KENT, Ohio (AP) Jaylin Walker scored 31 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Kent State used a 50-point second half to beat Northern Illinois 78-68 on Saturday.

Antonio Williams scored 13 points with five assists for the Golden Flashes (14-4, 3-2 Mid-American Conference) and Akiean Frederick scored 12. Kent State won its second straight and now has tallied six wins in its last eight contests.

The Huskies led 30-28 at intermission, and shortly into the second half, Walker buried a 3-pointer and threw down a dunk and the Golden Flashes led the rest of the way. Lacey James' free throw with 14:46 left reduced the Huskies' deficit to 37-35 before Kent State went on a 12-4 run and they led by double-digits for most of the remainder.

Eugene German led Northern Illinois (10-8, 3-2) with 22 points and five rebounds, Levi Bradley scored 12, James 10 with 10 rebounds and Dante Thorpe pitched in 10.