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.