 TOLEDO 71, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 41
The 30-point victory was the Rockets’ largest conference triumph in nearly six years, and the Huskies’ 41 points were the fewest UT has allowed in a MAC contest since Jan. 31, 1998.
Junior G Curtis Dennis topped the Rocket attack with 18 points in addition to grabbing five boards in 27 minutes. Sophomore F Reese Holliday added 11 points (including a career-best three treys), while junior G Dominique Buckley contributed 10 points and three steals.
Sophomore G Rian Pearson led Toledo (9-9, 1-3 MAC) with nine rebounds to help UT post a 32-27 advantage on the glass. He also scored eight points and grabbed three steals in 29 minutes.
The Rockets shot 53.2 percent from the field, including a nine-for-19 effort from behind the three-point arc. UT limited the visitors to a 30.2 FG percentage and forced 23 turnovers.
Northern Illinois (2-14, 1-3 MAC) dominated the boards in the game’s early stages and held an 11-10 lead with 12:29 remaining in the first half thanks primarily to an 11-4 rebounding advantage. Freshman G Julius Brown and Dennis hit back-to-back treys, though, to give UT its first sizable lead of the contest, 18-13, with 8:33 left in the opening stanza.
Toledo finished the half with a 19-3 run to take a 37-18 advantage into the locker room UT finished the half with a red-hot 59.1 FG percentage overall and 62.5 three-point FG percentage.
UT controlled the second half, as well, and never let its lead dip under 18 points the remainder of the contest.
The Rockets return to action on Saturday, Jan. 21 with a trip to Ypsilanti, MI to battle MAC West Division co-leader Eastern Michigan (8-10, 3-1 MAC). Tip-off time is set for 2:00 p.m.
Courtesy of Toledo Athletics
NOTES: Toledo’s last 30-point win in MAC play was an 88-58 home victory over EMU on Jan. 26, 2006…NIU’s 41 points were the fewest points UT has allowed in a MAC game since a 53-41 win over Bowling Green on Jan. 31, 1998…The Rockets snapped their four-game losing streak in its series vs. NIU and also snapped a three-game overall losing streak.
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