The Northern Illinois University men’s basketball team returns from its Holiday break on Monday, Dec. 30, as the Huskies host East-West University at 6 p.m. at the NIU Convocation Center. Tickets for the contest, which is the final game of NIU’s Holiday Hoops series, are available now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets, and the game will be available on ESPN+ and WDKB 94-9 FM.

NIU ends the calendar year with just its second game in the last 23 days as the Huskies traveled to Illinois State on Dec. 18, in their only game since Dec. 7.

Last time out against the Redbirds, Quentin Jones (Chicago, Ill./Marian Catholic) netted a new career-high 27 points, going 9-of-18 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free-throw line. Jones ranks fourth in the Mid-American Conference in scoring at 16.1 points per game and has scored in double figures in 9-of-11 games this season.

He also ranks second in the MAC in blocked shots, averaging 1.27 per game, behind only Ohio’s AJ Clayton (1.55). As a team, NIU is tied with Buffalo for the MAC lead with 3.91 blocks per game.

James Dent Jr. (Springfield, Ill./Springfield Southeast) ranks third in the MAC in assist/turnover ratio at 2.20 (33 assists, 15 turnovers). Over the last three games, Dent has 11 assists and three turnovers. He is also NIU’s second leading scorer at 11.7 points per game.

Monday’s contest is NIU’s penultimate non-conference game of the season as the Huskies will have one more non-league game as part of the MAC/Sun Belt Challenge on Feb. 8.

The Phantoms of East-West University will be facing their fifth NCAA Division I opponent of the season when they come to DeKalb on Monday. East-West has already met Tennessee State, Southern Indiana, Lindenwood and Western Illinois. Against NCAA opposition, Jaha Jackson leads the Phantoms in scoring at 15.9 points per game.

Following Monday’s matchup, NIU will turn its attention toward MAC play as the Huskies open their league slate on the road at Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 4. NIU’s MAC home opener is slated for Tuesday, Jan. 7, against Kent State.