Jackson leads Toledo past N. Illinois 69-55 in MAC West
DEKALB, Ill. -- Marreon Jackson scored 16 points, opened the game with the first of his four 3-pointers and Toledo led all the way Saturday, defeating Northern Illinois 69-55 in the battle for first place in the Western Division of the Mid-American Conference.
Nate Navigato scored 14 with a trio of 3s and Chris Darrington scored 11, also making three from distance as the Rockets (18-5, 6-3) shot 13 of 30 from behind the 3-point arc.
Dante Thorpe scored 19 to lead Northern Illinois (12-10, 5-4) and Eugene German added 15. German pulled the Huskies to within 47-46 with 9:50 remaining but Toledo sprinted ahead on an 18-4 run over the next six-plus minutes to lead 65-48 with 3:27 to go.
Navigato scored 11 of his points in the run as the Rockets made 6 of 10 shots, holding NIU to 2 of 12, including 0 for 4 from distance.
The Rockets shot 52 percent in the second half and drained their first five 3s after the break.
Game Information
- Referees:
- Terry Wymer
- Donnie Eppler
- Tim Stewart
2023-24 Mid-American Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Toledo | 14-4 | - | 20-12 |
Akron | 13-5 | 1 | 24-11 |
Ohio | 13-5 | 1 | 20-13 |
Central Michigan | 12-6 | 2 | 18-14 |
Bowling Green | 10-8 | 4 | 20-14 |
Miami (OH) | 9-9 | 5 | 15-17 |
Western Michigan | 9-9 | 5 | 12-20 |
Kent State | 8-10 | 6 | 17-17 |
Ball State | 7-11 | 7 | 15-16 |
Eastern Michigan | 6-12 | 8 | 13-18 |
Northern Illinois | 5-13 | 9 | 11-20 |
Buffalo | 2-16 | 12 | 4-27 |