Toledo headed to DeKalb on an 18-game winning streak against MAC West Division opponents, but left Sunday with a new streak: a losing one.

After scoring the game’s first points, the Huskies never looked back as they outplayed the Rockets to a 78-62 finish.

Of the team’s 78 points, 62 were scored by bench players. Juniors Jarvis Nichols and Sean Smith left the bench around the same time.

The two ended up leading the team in scoring with 21 and 18 points respectively, both career highs. However, they brought much more than points to the court.

After five minutes of play, the atmosphere at the Convocation Center seemed less than adequate considering the 2,138 fans in attendance. But once Nichols sank his third consecutive three-pointer, the fans finally came alive.

The energy continued into the second half as other members of the bench fell into rhythm.

Sophomore Bristan Kelley was the beneficiary of good passing and credits his teammates for his 11-point game. The total matched a career high for the forward.

“The passing from my teammates gave me a lot of opportunities to make baskets,” Kelley said. “I just did what I could to help out the team.”

Looking for the open man is something NIU head coach Ricardo Patton stressed in practice. With 19 total assists from the Huskies, Patton said his team played selfless basketball.

“Our assist to turnover ratio was solid,” Patton said. “That’s what we want to do. That’s one of the things we talked about before the game. Just playing very unselfish basketball.”

NIU’s (4-10 overall, 1-1 MAC) offense was not the only factor that helped produce a victory. The Huskies went up against the MAC’s leading scorer Tyrone Kent.

The junior averaged 18.3 points per game before the contest. However, NIU’s defense held Kent to 16 points, with only two points in the second half.

Toledo (4-10, 1-1) head coach Stan Joplin said the Huskies put pressure on the shooters.
“They showed us a press, and I don’t think we adjusted like we should,” Joplin said.

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