 NORTHERN ILLINOIS 75, TOLEDO 70 “It was a great team effort,” NIU head coach Ricardo Patton said. “I thought the guys did a great job defensively, particularly on Malcolm Griffin. He was going to score; he had 17 points, but it took him 16 shots to get there.”
Northern Illinois went 4-of-8 from the floor in the overtime period while holding Toledo to just 1-of-7 shooting as the Huskies outscored the Rockets 11-6 in the extra five minutes. Senior guard Michael Patton had six assists and four steals in the contest - both new career-highs.
All 10 players dressed for the Huskies scored and grabbed a rebound in the contest that featured six ties and 10 lead changes in the second half alone.
“We had a number of guys step up tonight. Aksel Bolin was just 1-of-1 (shooting) in the first half, but he had seven rebounds. Tyler Storm was a hero in the second half, keeping the ball alive and giving us second opportunities to score.”
NIU played without leading scorer Xavier Silas who did not travel due to an ankle injury.
“There is not a coach in America that wants to play without his best player, but I was happy that the guys realized that he wasn’t here and they had to go out and play. They did that, and everyone gave a great effort.”
With the Rockets in front, 64-63, Zack Leahy split a pair of free throws for Toledo with 18 seconds to play in regulation. NIU raced to the other end, and Storm scored off an offensive rebound to tie the score with 10 seconds remaining. With no timeouts left, Toledo came down the floor and attempted a corner triple, but the shot came up short and the contest headed to overtime.
Redshirt freshman guard Antone Christian scored the first five of the extra session for NIU, sandwiched around a Toledo triple, giving the Huskies a two-point lead, 69-67. Landers made a pair of free throws halfway through the extra period to put NIU up by four and Toler netted a pair of baskets in the final 90 seconds as the Huskies never trailed in the overtime.
Christian scored five of his eight points in the overtime; he also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds for the Huskies.
Malcolm Griffin led Toledo with 17 points. Jay Shunnar and Anthony Wright each netted 12 for the Rockets, while Delino Dear posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Northern Illinois used an 8-2 run to take a four-point lead early in the contest. Toler scored six of the eight for the Huskies with a trifecta and an old-fashioned three-point play.
The Rockets answered with a 7-3 burst to tie the game, 11-11, before Toler knocked down another triple to give the Huskies a three-point edge with 11:20 to play in the first half.
Toler’s third triple of the half started another 8-2 run for the Huskies. Grady made a layup and freshman guard Aksel Bolin connected on a triple from the corner to push the NIU lead to seven, 22-15, with 7:35 left before the half, forcing a Toledo timeout. The triple was the only basket of the game for Bolin, who grabbed eight rebounds in the contest.
Toledo pulled back within three until Grady made a pair of free throws with four seconds left in the half to give NIU a 32-27 lead at the intermission.
NIU held Toledo to just 28.0 percent (7-of-25) shooting in the first half, but the Rockets went 12-of-13 from the free-throw line in the opening 20 minutes to keep the game close.
A 10-3 run gave Toledo its first lead of the second half, 37-36, but NIU answered on the next possession with a put-back by junior forward Cameron Madlock to give the lead back to the Huskies with 14:26 to play.
Six-straight points helped give Toledo a four-point lead, 46-42, midway through the second half. Following a timeout, NIU scored five-straight, all at the free-throw line, to regain the advantage, 47-46.
The Rockets responded with eight of the next nine points to lead by six, 54-48, but the Huskies answered right back with a basket from Landers and a triple by Storm from the wing to cut the Toledo lead to just one, 54-53, with four minutes to play.
A triple by Shunnar increased the Toledo lead to four, but Grady answered with a triple from the corner and, after a defensive stop, freshman forward Nate Rucker scored in the paint to put NIU up 61-60.
After three more points from Shunnar and a free throw by Christian, Toledo led 63-62, setting up the final moments of regulation with Leahy at the free-throw line.
NIU will return home on Wednesday, Feb. 26, for its final home game of the season as the Huskies host Eastern Michigan at the NIU Convocation Center. Game time against the Eagles is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Courtesy of Northern Illinois Athletics |
