[Tuck4Bama]

DEKALB, Ill. (AP) -- The message was impossible to miss: "Forward, Together Forward," read the banner hanging outside the arena.
A line in Northern Illinois' fight song, it's now a mantra for a school and community still recovering.

NIU took another small step Tuesday night, when it hosted Western Michigan in the first athletic event on campus since a gunman killed five students in a lecture hall before taking his own life on Feb. 14.

For the record, Western Michigan won 56-49 behind a 16-point effort from David Kool. But this clearly wasn't an ordinary game.

"It should serve as some therapy for all of us," NIU coach Ricardo Patton said.

The Enquirer - Associated Press