DEKALB, Ill. – Toledo shot 57.6 percent (34-of-59) and made 14 triples as the Rockets earned a 97-67 victory over the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team on Tuesday night at the NIU Convocation Center. 

Sophomore Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) led three players in double figures with 27 points. Junior Levi Bradley (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) scored 14 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds while junior Lacey James (Grand Rapids, Mich./Rider) added 13 points and seven rebounds. 

"Give Toledo all the credit in the world, they came out and got in a good rhythm right away," said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. "It just seemed like we couldn't get a stop early, they gained confidence and we struggled on the offensive end early. Our defense let us down, we couldn't get stops.

"I thought we played a lot harder in the second half to get them out of their rhythm offensively. I think we cut (the lead) to 15 three or four times, we just couldn't cut the lead (more), the damage was already done."

With the game tied at nine in the early going, Toledo made back-to-back triples to take a six-point lead five minutes into the contest. NIU answered with the next four on a basket by Bradley and a pair of free throws from German as the Huskies trimmed the Rocket advantage back to a pair, 15-13. 

Toledo (21-9, 13-4 MAC) led by five, 20-15, before a quick 5-0 burst doubled the Rockets advantage to 25-15 just before the midway point of the opening half. 

Leading by a half-dozen, the Rockets used a 15-2 run to take a 40-21 lead with just over five minutes left in the first stanza. 

The Toledo lead reached 48-23 before the Huskies scored the final four points to close the half on a pair of free throws from Bradley and a layup from German.

Toledo shot 53.3 percent (16-of-30) from the field in the first half, including 50 percent (8-of-16) from three-point range. NIU shot just 33.3 percent (11-of-33) in the opening 20 minutes. 

NIU (12-18, 5-12 MAC) scored 10 of the first 13 out of the intermission as the Huskies trimmed the Rocket advantage down to 51-37 less than three minutes into the second half. 

The Huskies played the Rockets nearly even in the second half until a 17-6 run just past the midway point of the second half broke the game open for Toledo. 

Tre'Shaun Fletcher led the Rockets with a triple-double, scoring 20 points to go along with 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Jaelan Sanford added 16 points and Luke Knapke chipped in 13 points for the Rockets who clinched the MAC West Division crown. 

NIU will close the regular season on Friday night, March 2, when the Huskies host Ball State at 7 p.m. Tickets for Tuesday and Friday night are on sale now through the NIU Athletics Ticket Office in the Convocation Center, by calling 815-753-PACK (7225) or online at NIUHuskies.com.