DEKALB, Ill. -- Jordan Washington has been Mississippi Valley State's most consistent player all season.

He entered Tuesday night's game at Northern Illinois averaging a team-high 14 points and just two games removed from setting a career scoring mark with 20 points last month against North Carolina A&T.

On Tuesday, the 5-foot-10 Memphis native?surely created more buzz around his name, surpassing his previous scoring high with 21 points in a 71-64 loss to the Huskies.

It marked the eighth time out of 10 games that Washington has scored in double figures this season. He scored 15 of his 21 in the first half, helping the Delta Devils go into intermission down just 36-33.

But the Huskies went on a 22-7 run after halftime that put the game out of reach for the Delta Devils. MVSU, however, didn't give up and cut NIU's lead to single digits with under six minutes remaining. Valley got as close as six points, 65-59, after a DeAngelo Priar layup with more than three minutes on the clock.

NIU responded with a pair of buckets down the stretch to cool off the Delta Devils and seal the win for the Huskies, who improved to 4-3 on the season.

MVSU's Priar had a season-high 17 points while Vacha Vaughn and Rakwan Kelly added six points apiece. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Simmons contributed a career-high seven assists in the loss.

Valley shot 40 percent from the field and made 14-of-21 free throws.

MVSU will play in Clarksdale on Saturday against North Carolina Central. The game will tip off at 3 p.m. at The Pinnacle on the campus of Coahoma Community College. Admission will be $10 for adults and $5 for youth ages 5-17.