Northern Illinois holds off late rally, beats Toledo 74-72 (Jan 28, 2017)
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) Marin Maric scored 15 points, Laytwan Porter hit a clutch 3-pointer and Aaric Armstead blocked a final Toledo shot as Northern Illinois hung on for a 74-72 win in a meeting of the top two Mid-American Conference West Division teams on Saturday.
Five players reached double figures for the Huskies (13-8, 5-3 MAC) with Porter scoring 12, Dontel Highsmith and Armstead 11 apiece and Levi Bradley 10.
Toledo (11-10, 4-4) trailed 70-61 with 2:46 remaining, but Nate Navigato kicked off an 8-0 rally with a 3-pointer, Jonathan Williams added two free throws and Jaelen Sanford stole the ball, scored and was fouled, converting the three-point play.
Porter capped the next Huskies possession with a 3-pointer. Sanford answered to make the gap 73-72 and each team missed free throws in the last five seconds. Armstead blocked a Williams 3-point shot to end the game.
Sanford finished with a career-high 29 points, Williams added 21 and Steve Taylor Jr. 17 rebounds with nine assists.
