Drew Hare threw for three touchdowns and
Cameron Stingily added two on the ground as the Northern Illinois Huskies
outlasted the UNLV Rebels, 48-34, at Sam Boyd Stadium.
Hare completed 18-of-28 attempts and tallied 285 yards for NIU (3-0). He also
picked up 74 yards and a score on the ground. Stingily ran for 102 of the
Huskies' 331 rushing yards and Da'Ron Brown caught six passes for 138 yards
and a touchdown.
NIU has now won 17 straight road games during the regular season.
Blake Decker finished with 397 yards and two touchdowns through the air for
UNLV (1-2), but he completed just 24-of-42 attempts and was intercepted once.
Shaquille Lawrence-Murray ran for 60 yards and two scores on 17 carries and
Devante Davis had a game-high 150 yards, as well as two touchdowns, on six
receptions.
Jonathan Leiva kicked a 25-yard field goal in the early part of the first
quarter to push UNLV ahead, 3-0.
A five-yard touchdown run from Stingily gave NIU its first points and a 7-3
lead.
UNLV added to its total with a safety later in the frame.
Midway through the second quarter Hare threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Keith
Harris to lift NIU to a 14-5 advantage.
The Huskies fit in one more score before halftime when Hare connected with
Juwan Brescacin for a 10-yard touchdown strike with 29 seconds left in the
second quarter.
Hare scored on a 12-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter, but UNLV
answered with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Decker to Davis.
Just over three minutes later the Huskies struck again with a 45-yard field
goal from Tyler Wedel.
Davis found the end zone again in the period when he scored on a 53-yard pass
from Decker.
A two-yard touchdown run from Murray-Lawrence just under two minutes later
pulled UNLV to within five points.
Wedel gave the Huskies some breathing room early in the fourth quarter with a
33-yard field goal.
The Rebels answered quickly, with Murray-Lawrence capping off a 75-yard drive
less than two minutes later with a nine-yard touchdown run. Following a
successful two-point conversion, the score was back to even.
NIU would not let that stand for long, as Hare threw a 54-yard touchdown pass
to Brown on the next drive.
The Huskies then put the game away with a two-yard touchdown run from Stingily
with just under two minutes remaining.
NIU had a 616-499 advantage in total offense and had nine more first downs
than UNLV (35-26).
NIU plays their 3rd straight road game this Satursday at Arkansas.
