Well, nobody got hurt.

Otherwise, not much good can be said of the NIU men’s basketball team’s 96-72 loss at Toledo Wednesday night. Just ask assistant coach Jon Mackey.

“Tonight is the worst we’ve played all year,” Mackey said. “No doubt about it.”

The lowlights included a 0-7 shooting performance from the floor in the first half by Huskie senior Mike Grabner. Rodney Davis, the team’s leading scorer this year, airballed his first shot and did not score until the game was out of reach at 46-25.

NIU trailed by as much as 23 late in the first half, which ended on a last-second hoop by Toledo’s sophomore center Chad Keller. The teams left the floor after the first 20 minutes with NIU down 30-52 following a .320 shooting exhibition by the Huskies.

NIU showed signs of life in the second half when senior guard Randy Norman canned a pair of 3-pointers and Davis added a basket to bring the Huskies within 14 with over 17 minutes left. However, Toledo, which hit eight 3-pointers in the first half, never allowed NIU to get any closer.

The Rockets’ biggest lead of the contest was an 86-54 bulge with six minutes left. In the waning moments, NIU head coach Jim Rosborough emptied the bench to give several freshmen valuable playing time.

“Defensively, they looked a little better,” Mackey said of the Huskie kiddie corps. “We were pleased with the way they played.”

Rosborough shook up the Huskie starting lineup, giving freshman Andrew Wells a chance to show his stuff while senior center John Culbertson rode the pines. Neither player responded positively as Wells failed to score and Culbertson provided just six points off the bench.

The Rockets’ hot shooting played a major role in leading to the easy victory. Junior forward Fred King’s 3-pointer with seven minutes to go in the first half was the Rockets’ seventh consecutive field goal and made the score 32-16 Toledo. The home team blistered the nets at a .590 clip in the first half.

The Huskies’ overall record fell to 4-10 and 1-6 on the road. NIU is a respectable 2-2 at home, including a 84-78 setback to Bradley at the Rockford MetroCentre, where the Brave fans made up at least half the crowd.

“We have a lot of confidence when we play at home,” Mackey said, hoping the Huskies will respond against Akron Saturday night in DeKalb. “Tonight, hopefully, will be something that will wake us up. If we get a run going and it starts snowballing, who knows what’s going to happen.”

The only two Huskies to escape blame for the team’s worst setback of the year might have been Norman and freshman Donnell Thomas. Norman continued his improved scoring with 20 points and Thomas added 15. Davis was second high with 19, but his poor first half contributed to the Huskies’ demise.

Toledo was led by Keller’s 18 points. Senior Jeff Haar scored 16, including two 3-pointers, and three other Rockets, junior Andy Fisher, freshman Keith Wade and King, finished with 13 apiece.