TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo scored nine of the last 13 points as the Rockets came from behind to edge the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team, 57-54, on Saturday night at Savage Arena. Junior Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) scored a game-high 22 points and tied for the team lead with eight rebounds but the Huskies were unable to withstand seven second half triples from the Rockets.

Senior Dante Thorpe (Washington, D.C./Triton College) scored 12 points and tallied a game-high four steals. 

"Our guys came out and competed," said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. "Our guys had unbelievable fight for 40 minutes. This is a tough place to win on the road but I told our guys that if we come out like that in the final four games, we are going to come out on the winning side. We know that we can compete with anyone in this conference, we just need the ball to bounce our way."

NIU (12-15, 5-9 MAC) scored the first six points of the contest, three from Thorpe and a corner triple by sophomore Rod Henry-Hayes (Zion, Ill./Zion-Benton Township). Toledo answered with the next four before the Huskies responded with a triple by sophomore Gairges Daow (Melbourne, Australia/Victory Rock Academy), off a feed from junior Noah McCarty (Rock Falls, Ill./Sterling Newman), as NIU lead 9-4 early on. 

Back-to-back baskets by German and Thorpe helped push the NIU lead to 16-8 with seven minutes to play in the opening half. 

A triple by German with 2:20 to play before the break gave the Huskies a nine-point lead, 23-14, the largest of the half, but Toledo scored the final seven points of the half to trim the NIU advantage to just a pair, 23-21, at the break. 

German scored 13 points in the first four minutes of the second half, including a personal 10-0 run, as NIU took a 36-27 lead early in the second stanza. 

Toledo (21-6, 9-5 MAC) trimmed the NIU lead to a half-dozen until a triple from freshman Trendon Hankerson (Novi, Mich./Novi) and a dunk from senior Lacey James (Grand Rapids, Mich./Rider) gave the Huskies a 43-32 lead with a little over 12 minutes remaining. 

The Rockets answered with the next eight to trim the NIU lead to just three, but German then knocked in a triple as the Huskie advantage ballooned to a half-dozen, 46-40, with 8:43 to play. 

NIU led by eight after a short corner jumper by James, but Toledo answered with the next eight to pull even, 48-48, with 5:23 left in the contest. 

A bucket by Thorpe moved NIU back in front, but the Rockets then scored the next six to lead 54-50 with 1:16 remaining. An old-fashioned three-point play by Thorpe brought NIU back within one and the Huskies fouled with 31 seconds on the clock. Toledo made a pair and NIU then split a pair on the other end as the Rockets led 56-54. 

Another Huskie foul led to a free throw split by Toledo with 21 seconds to play, giving the Huskies a chance to tie with a three. A first triple try was blocked and, following a timeout, a second came up short as Toledo escaped with a three-point victory. 

Nate Navigato scored a team-high 21 points to lead the Rockets, Marreon Jackson added 10 points and Luke Knapke grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. 

NIU will return home on Tuesday, February 26, as the Huskies host Western Michigan in their penultimate home game of the regular season. Tickets are available from the NIU Convocation Center Box Office, by calling 815-753-PACK (7225) or by visiting NIUHuskies.com/tickets.