TOLEDO, Ohio – Junior Tyler Cochran scored a team-high 27 points, but it wasn't enough for the Toledo men's basketball team in a 75-72 loss to Northern Illinois (10-18, 4-11 MAC) on Tuesday night in Savage Arena. The defeat deprived the Rockets (17-11, 11-4 MAC) of an opportunity to move into a first-place tie in the Mid-American Conference standings with Akron (20-8, 12-3 MAC) following the Zips' 74-67 setback tonight at Ohio.
 
"That was a tough loss for us tonight," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "We talk a great deal about how everyone in the MAC has guys that can beat you, and David Coit is a guy that can do that. We've had very little adversity all season long, and we're going to have to rely on our veteran leadership to get through this."
 
Junior Dante Maddox Jr. finished with 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while redshirt freshman Javan Simmons tallied 12 points.
 
Coit scored 27 points for NIU, while freshman Will Lovings-Watts registered a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Toledo was efficient on the offensive end, shooting 49.2% from the field and registering a season-high 22 assists and just six turnovers. NIU shot 50.9% from the field and knocked down 10-of-23 (43.5%) from three-point range. The Huskies also held a 36-29 advantage in the rebounding department.
 
Toledo held a 37-28 halftime lead, but a 9-2 Huskies' spurt cut the Rockets' lead to 45-44 with 11:04 remaining. After that neither team could establish more than a three-point lead until Lovings-Watts' three-pointer gave NIU a 66-62 advantage with 3:18 to play it wouldn't relinquish. Toledo had a chance to tie at the buzzer, but Cochran's three-point attempt rimmed out.
 
Toledo will look to get back on the winning track when it travels to Buffalo on Saturday, March 2. Tip-off time vs. the Bulls is set for 2:00 p.m. with streaming on ESPN+.
 
FIRST HALF

• Toledo began the game with a 15-5 lead at the 14:03 mark with Dante Maddox Jr. leading the way with six points.
• NIU rallied and eventually gained its first lead of the night, 23-22, with 6:15 left in the half following back-to-back layups from David Coit.  
• Andre Lorentsson then sparked a 7-0 burst with a three-pointer that put Toledo ahead 31-25 three minutes before the break.  
• Javan Simmons and Tyler Cochran both scored in the final minute to give the Rockets a 37-28 halftime lead. 
• Toledo posted a 51.7 FG% in the first half with Cochran leading the way with 11 points.

SECOND HALF

• NIU used a 9-2 spurt to cut Toledo's lead to 45-44 with 10:53 remaining.
• The Rockets remained in the lead until Oluwasegun Durosinmi's layup put the visitors ahead, 50-49, just over two minutes later.
• Cochran answered with two straight baskets to put UT up four, but Coit responded with a triple to tie the game at 53-53 with 7:15 to play.
• Coit buried another trey to give NIU the lead for good, 63-60, with 4:29 left.
• The Rockets never had a chance to take the lead down the stretch with Cochran's game-tying three-point attempt rimming out at the buzzer.