Dec. 3, 2005

Final Stats |  Quotes |  Notes

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - Cory Sims scored 20 points and Northern Illinois held off Toledo 73-69 Saturday night.

The Huskies led by as many as 24 in the second half but the Rockets battled back to cut the lead to 68-65 on Kashif Payne's two free throws with 2:35 left.

Todd Peterson tipped in a basket to make it 72-67 with 52 seconds remaining and Zach Pancratz hit 1-of-2 from the free-throw line down the stretch to help Northern Illinois hold on.

Keonta Howell missed two 3-pointers in the final seven seconds for Toledo (3-2, 0-1 Mid-American Conference), which finished 11-of-28 from behind the arc.

Pancratz had 18 points and James Hughes added 12 for the Huskies (3-1, 1-0), who shot 69 percent from the field in the first half and led 43-21 at the break.

Justin Ingram led the Rockets with 21 points and Sammy Villegas finished with 14.