Tied at halftime, Toledo used a 13-0 run to open the second half to propel the Rockets to an 89-73 victory over the Northern Illinois University men’s basketball team on Tuesday night (Jan. 23) at the NIU Convocation Center.

David Coit (Columbus, N.J./Atlantic Cape CC) scored a game-high 23 points, Xavier Amos (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) added 21 points and Zarique Nutter (Newark, N.J./Clarendon College) added 16 for the Huskies.

“We are disappointed,” said NIU head coach Rashon Burno. “I thought we had turned the corner in regard to second halves. We talked about it, we watched film, we talked about mindset, about things you need to do to get yourself ready to compete in the second half, and we didn’t do it. It has been our Achilles heel all year. It is frustrating to prepare and put a lot of time and energy in and give it away in the second half.”

The Huskies and Rockets traded baskets for the opening nine minutes of the contest before four-straight points for Toledo gave the Rockets a 21-17 lead just before the midway point of the half.

With the Rockets in front by four, 32-28, NIU used a six-point burst to take a two-point lead. Amos scored the first four before Coit finished the spurt as the Huskies took a 34-32 lead with 3:03 remaining in the opening half.

Toledo (12-7, 6-1 MAC) went back up by a pair late in the half until a putback dunk from Amos tied the game at 38 at the intermission.

Amos led all scorers with 13 points at the break, Ra’Heim Moss led Toledo with 12 while Nutter had nine points and eight rebounds for the Huskies in the opening 20 minutes, which included eight lead changes and six ties.

Toledo opened the second half on a 10-0 run as the Rockets opened a 48-38 lead with 17:32 remaining, forcing a Huskie timeout. The Rockets added a triple following the timeout as the advantage for the visitors grew to 51-38.

NIU (6-12, 0-6 MAC) cut the Toledo lead to just eight on a free throw by Nutter with 7:58 remaining, but Toledo answered with the next seven points as the Rockets went in front, 74-59, with just over six minutes to go.

Moss led Toledo with 20 points, Javan Simmons added 19, Tyler Cochran chipped in 18 points and Sonny Wilson scored 15. Toledo went 21-of-30 (70 percent) from the free-throw line while NIU was 9-of-13 (69.2 percent) from the charity stripe in the contest.

The Huskies head on the road for the next two games, beginning with a trip to Muncie, Ind., to face Ball State on Saturday, Jan. 27. Tipoff against the Cardinals is slated for 1 p.m.