Toledo escapes upset bid by Northern Illinois 82-77

Feb 7, 2018, 02:29 am

TOLEDO, Ohio -- Jaelan Sanford tossed in 22 points, Tre'Shaun Fletcher scored 20 and Marreon Jackson came up big down the stretch to help Toledo hold off upset-minded Northern Illinois 82-77 on Tuesday night.

Jackson buried a 3-pointer with 54 seconds remaining to give Toledo (17-7, 9-2 Mid-American Conference) a 78-75 lead and he added two free throws with 28 seconds left to push the lead to five. Eugene German's layup pulled the Huskies (10-14, 3-8) within 80-77 and they had a shot to tie after Sanford missed a pair of foul shots. But German missed from distance and Jackson, who scored 13, added two free throws to seal it.

German finished with a career-high 30 points and added eight rebounds and four assists. Levi Bradley scored 24 for Northern Illinois, which lost its fourth straight game and fell to 1-10 on the road.

Toledo, the top shooting 3-point team in the MAC, sank 11 of 27 (41 percent) and held the Huskies to 4-of-17 shooting from distance. The Rockets won for the ninth time in 10 games.