Rockets Fall at MAC West Leader NIU

Tuesday, March 3

DeKalb, Ill.

7:00 p.m. CT

University of Toledo

15-15 (7-10MAC)

Northern Illinois

18-12 (11-6MAC)

Toledo

Northern Ill.

Senior Willie Jackson notched his 17th double-double of the season tonight.

Photo by: Haley Boehm

3/3/2020 10:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Final Stats (PDF)

DeKALB, Ill. – Toledo could never get untracked offensively on Tuesday night in a 71-50 defeat to Mid-American Conference West Division leader Northern Illinois (18-12, 11-6 MAC). Despite the loss, the Rockets remained the No. 7 seed for the 2020 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament with one game remaining in their regular season.

Senior forward Willie Jackson registered his 17^th double-double of the season to lead Toledo (15-15, 7-10 MAC). Jackson finished with a team-high 15 points and 10 rebounds with junior guard Marreon Jackson joining him in double digits with 12 points.

Junior guard Spencer Littleson also grabbed a career-high five steals in the setback.

Senior guard Eugene German topped the Huskies with 22 points and three assists. Senior forward Lacey James also notched a double-double for NIU with 11 points and a game-high 11 boards.

Toledo shot a season-low 29.8 percent from the field, including 5-of-24 (20.8 percent) from three-point range, en route to its lowest scoring output since a 58-49 loss at NIU on Jan. 22, 2016. The Huskies recorded a 50.0 field-goal percentage and was 8-of-17 (47.1 percent) behind the three-point arc.

Toledo hosts Eastern Michigan in its regular-season finale on Friday, March 6 at 7:00 p.m. The Rockets' annual Senior Night ceremony honoring Willie Jackson and Luke Knapke will be held following the contest vs. the Eagles.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

Toledo fell behind 6-0 early but battled back to within a point, 6-5, thanks to a Spencer Littleson trey and a Willie Jackson baseline jumper.
The Huskies responded with an 8-0 burst to take a 14-5 lead with 11:37 remaining in the half.
Two Keshaun Saunders free throws reduced the Rockets' deficit to 18-11 just over three minutes later.
After Littleson buried another trey to trim NIU's lead to single digits (23-14) at the 5:37 mark, the Huskies ended the half on a 10-3 run to take a 33-17 halftime lead.

SECOND HALF

Willie Jackson scored the first basket of the second half, but Gairges Daow's trey pushed NIU's lead to 41-21 just over five minutes into the second stanza.
Marreon Jackson connected on a three-pointer, and Willie Jackson followed with a layup to bring the Rockets within 15 points with 14 minutes remaining.
Northern Illinois broke the game open with a 16-4 spurt to put the Rockets down 57-30 with 6:28 to play.