DEKALB, Ill. (AP) - Eugene German had 22 points as Northern Illinois easily defeated Toledo 71-50 on Tuesday night to clinch a first-round bye in the upcoming Mid-American Conference tournament.
Trendon Hankerson had 13 points for Northern Illinois, which entered the game in first place in the conference’s West Division and earned its sixth straight home victory. Lacey James added 11 points and 11 rebounds and Tyler Cochran had 10 points.
Toledo scored 17 first-half points, a season low for the team, as the Huskies held them to 30% shooting from the field (17 of 57).
Willie Jackson had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets (15-15, 7-10), who entered the game in third place in the conference’s West Division. Marreon Jackson added 12 points. Spencer Littleson had five steals.
Luke Knapke, who was second on the Rockets in scoring entering the matchup with 16 points per game, shot only 20% in the game (1 of 5).
The Huskies improve to 2-0 against the Rockets this season. Northern Illinois defeated Toledo 66-61 on Feb. 4. Northern Illinois finishes out the regular season against Ball St. at home on Friday. Toledo finishes out the regular season against Eastern Michigan at home on Friday.
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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com
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