DeKALB, IL – Toledo couldn't overcome its cold shooting Friday evening in a 58-49 setback at Mid-American Conference West Division leader Northern Illinois (16-3, 5-1 MAC) The Huskies' victory extended their homecourt win streak to 15 games dating back to last season
 
The Rockets (12-7, 3-3 MAC) shot a season-low 31.1 percent (19-of-61) from the field and converted just 5-of-30 attempts (16.7 percent) from behind the three-point arc. The Huskies posted an identical 31.1 FG% but were able to hit 8-of-24 three-point shots. NIU also held an advantage at the charity stripe, knocking down 12-of-16 compared to UT's 6-of-11 showing.
 
The Huskies held a slight advantage on the boards, 46-42, and also forced the Rockets to commit a season-high 18 turnovers.
 
Senior center Nathan Boothe was the lone Rocket to score in double figures as he registered his seventh double-double of the season with 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
Senior guard Travon Baker led Northern Illinois with 21 points and nine rebounds. Also scoring in double digits for the Huskies was junior guard Aaric Armstead and freshman forward Levi Bradley with 12 points apiece.
 
Freshman guard Nick Rogers sparked the Rocket attack early, scoring eight of UT's first 12 points for a 12-10 lead just under eight minutes into the contest. Freshman forward Nate Navigato's trey increased UT's margin to 16-10, and junior forward Zach Garber's dunk put the Rockets ahead, 19-10, with 7:12 to play in the first half.
 
NIU whittled away at its deficit though, and back-to-back Baker treys put Toledo down, 27-25, two minutes before intermission. A Boothe jumper ended the Huskies' 10-2 spurt, but NIU took a 29-27 halftime lead on freshman guard Marshawn Wilson's tip-in.
 
Following sophomore guard Stuckey Mosley's layup two minutes into the second stanza, the Rockets went scoreless for six minutes enabling NIU to take a 38-29 lead. Freshman guard Jaelan Sanford's three-point field goal ended the drought, and baskets from Garber and Boothe reduced NIU's lead to 38-36 with 11:31 remaining.
 
Baker produced back-to-back treys for a second time nearly six minutes later to increase Northern Illinois' lead to double digits, 49-38, with 4:37 to play.
 
The Midnight Blue and Gold wouldn't go away though. Boothe's trey reducedthe Rockets' deficit to 51-46 with 1:36 remaining, but that was as close as UT could come. NIU hit five of six free throws the rest of the way to close out the nine-point win.
 
Toledo returns to action when it opens a three-game homestand on Tuesday, Jan. 26 against Ohio. Tip-off time is set for 7:00 p.m.