DeKALB, Ill. — A strong first half and a break-even second half carried the University of Toledo men’s basketball team to an 84-67 victory over Northern Illinois in Mid-American Conference action Saturday at NIU’s Convocation Center.
The Rockets (11-6, 2-2 MAC) hit 50 percent of their shots from the field (15 of 30) in the first half as UT jumped out to a 41-23 lead through 20 minutes. The big run started with 10:04 to go in the first half, when Andre Lorentsson’s layup started a 17-0 outburst that stretched nearly five minutes and turned a 3-point Rockets edge into an 20-point advantage.
In all, five UT players scored as part of the run, including Dante Maddox, Jr. (six points), RayJ Dennis (five points), Setric Miller, Jr. (two points), and AJ Edu (two points).
"This was a very good road win for us heading into Tuesday's game against a talented Ohio team," Toledo coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "We guarded from start to finish, played with energy, and talked on defense. Northern Illinois' guards are such good scorers and a big key for us was holding David Coit to six points and 2-of-13 shooting."
Shooting cooled off in the second half, with Toledo making just 10 of 26 attempts (38.5 percent). Still, the Rockets didn’t let things get away, hitting 21 of 31 free throws after the break to maintain a double-digit lead.
The Rockets fronted a balanced scoring attack. Maddox led with 18 points, with Millner, Dennis, and JT Shumate each scoring 15 points. Edu had nine rebounds to go along with seven points.
Shumate had three of Toledo’s seven blocks. Northern Illinois had just two blocks.
Darweshi Hunter scored 22 points and Kaleb Thornton 21 points for Northern Illinois (5-12, 1-3).
For the game, UT shot 44.6 percent from the field (25 of 56), 31.6 percent from 3-point range (6 of 19), and 73.7 percent from the line (28 of 38). Northern Illinois went 39.6 percent from the field (21 of 53), 41.7 percent from 3-point range (10 of 24), and 62.5 percent from the line (62.5 percent).
UT outrebounded Northern Illinois 44-32, including a 14-9 edge offensively. The Huskies had 16 turnovers to the Rockets’ 12, with Toledo recording 10 steals to NIU’s five. Toledo had a 19-7 edge in second-chance points, a 28-20 advantage in points in the paint, a 16-6 margin in fast-break points, and a 19-6 advantage in points off turnovers.
Toledo returns home for a 7 p.m. home contest Tuesday against Ohio.
First Published January 15, 2023, 12:43 a.m.
