WHITING, Ind. -- The Indiana University Northwest men's basketball team defeated Calumet College, 76-54, at the Rittenmeyer Center, Saturday for their ninth win in a row. With the victory, the RedHawks clinch top 3 in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference standings. The CCAC gets three bids for the NAIA Tournament, the Three teams (Regular Season Champion, Regular Season Runner-Up and Tournament Champion or Regular Season Third Place if same as Regular Season Champion or Runner-Up) earns an automatic bid to the National Championship.

TEAM RECORDS 
IU Northwest (21-6, 15-5 CCAC) | Calumet College (5-18, 4-16 CCAC)

QUARTER BREAKDOWN
1st Half: IU Northwest 40, Calumet College 22
2nd Half: IU Northwest 36, Calumet College 32
Final Score: IU Northwest 76, Calumet College 54

IU NORTHWEST LEADERS
Points: Jared Johnson (15), Damond Crosby (12), Marshaud Watkins (12), Brian Hernandez (10)
Rebounds: Jared Johnson (8), Marshaud Watkins (7)
Assists: Jared Johnson (5)

GAME RECAP
Marshaud Watkins and Damond Crosby started the game with baskets for IU Northwest then Calumet College responded with a three-pointer. The Crimson Wave made it 8-6 RedHawks then IUN scored 11 unanswered points to grab a 19-6 lead where seven of those came from Jared Johnson. 

CCSJ cut it back down to single digits (22-13) before Brian Hernandez and Watkins made back-to-back buckets. The Crimson Wave responded with a basket then Jerron Tatum and a three-pointer by Ryan LaFollette made it 31-15 IUN. 

The Crimson Wave got back-to-back baskets then IU Northwest closed out the half with a 9-3 run started by a basket by Jason Peace. The RedHawks went into the halftime break 40-22.

The second half started with a basket by Calumet College then the RedHawks responded with one of their own. Back-to-back baskets by Hernandez and Tatum made it a 22-point advantage (50-28) with 12:12 left in the contest. 

Calumet College looked to crawl back in the game as the Crimson Wave cut it down to 14 (54-40) but the RedHawks responded with eight points in a row to extend it back out to 22. 

IU Northwest held onto their big lead the rest of the way. The RedHawks came out on top 76-54 Saturday.

UP NEXT
IU Northwest will be back in action Wednesday, February 16 as the RedHawks host IU rival, No. 20 Indiana South Bend at the Savannah Center with game time scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT.