March 5, 2013

Final Stats l Final Stats in PDF

TOLEDO, Ohio -- Northern Illinois and Toledo were tied in the early going before the Rockets went on a 13-0 run and never looked back, defeating NIU, 70-46, on Tuesday night at Savage Arena. Junior forward Aksel Bolin (Asker, Norway/Akser) led the Huskies with 14 points.

Freshman guard Mike Davis (Garfield Heights, Ohio/Garfield Heights) chipped in eight points and a team-high seven rebounds.

“We got off to a decent start but then Toledo went on their run,” said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. “To be down by just 14 at the half, we felt very fortunate. Then we scored first in the second half but Toledo went on another run and we just didn’t have an answer.”

Toledo shot 42.3 percent (22-of-52) in the contest, including 10-of-28 (35.7 percent) from behind the 3-point line, while holding Northern Illinois to just 29.8 percent (14-of-47) shooting, and 3-of-10 from behind the arc.

The Rockets led by as much as 19 in the first half before NIU chipped the advantage back to 14, 34-20, at the intermission. Bolin led NIU with eight in the opening 20 minutes; Matt Smith paced the Rockets with eight.

Sophomore forward Kevin Gray (Chicago, Ill./Brooks Academy) made the first basket out of the intermission to bring the Huskies back within a dozen, 34-22, but Toledo scored the next 11 to put the game out of reach.

Three Rockets scored in double figures, led by 16 points from Smith. Dominique Buckley added 13 points and Rian Pearson, the leading scorer in the MAC, chipped in 10 points.

The Huskies will close the regular season on Saturday, March 9, in Muncie, Ind., against Ball State. Game time against the Cardinals is slated for 1 p.m. CT.