TOLEDO, Ohio—Move over Western Michigan, a new scoring champion has been crowned against the NIU men’s basketball team.

The Toledo Rockets became the second NIU opponent to supersede the century mark this year in a 103-91 victory over the Huskies Wednesday night. The loss extended the Huskies’ road record to 0-8, while Toledo won at home for the first time in seven tries.

“Our offense looked quite fluid. The ball was moving. The players were moving,” said Toledo Coach Bob Nichols, whose team is 10-15. “We thought we got a happy combination of some hard cuts at the basket, and we took our outside shots when they were there. It was a particularly good game for us offensively—one of the nicest games we’ve had in a long time.”

The Rockets took off from the line, sending home 34 of 48 free throws. NIU, which scored seven more field goals than Toledo, had only 14 opportunities and hit 10. That huge difference caused NIU Coach Jim Rosborough, whose team slipped to 9-16, to blast the officiating.

“To think we’re going to beat eight guys out there is crazy,” he said. “If this is how they call games here, I’m glad we’re out. I’d back our administration 100 percent for pulling out of the conference.”

In the first few minutes, NIU appeared ready to end the foreign-court drought. The Huskies hit from the outside and were strong on the boards. But the Rockets controlled the game from there. Toledo hit six three-pointers in the opening ten minutes and spent the remaining period punching the ball inside.

“That really killed us,” said Huskie guard Rodney Davis, who scored a career-high 33 points. “We were trapping inside. He (Toledo center Blake Burnham) did a nice job of kicking the ball out. The first ten minutes was the whole game.”

“I think that was a big factor,” said NIU guard Randy Norman. “That gave them confidence. We knew they had a couple of good three-point shooters, but it seemed like everyone was hitting them.”

Impatience offensively also plagued the Huskies. NIU was successful pushing the ball up the floor, but the Huskies often took the first shot available.

“I think we could have passed the ball around a little bit,” Norman said. “I had a bad shooting night, but I thought I had the shots.”

The Huskies had trouble in the first half, which Toledo led 52-40, passing the ball down low, as Toledo defenders put a hand on almost every pass. The Huskies had to rely on perimeter shooting, picking up a balanced attack only in the second frame.

“I just have to give credit to their defense,” Norman said. “They played great post defense—denying the ball inside.”

Nichols, on the firing line with a second straight losing season a virtual certainty, said he was pleased his last-place Mid-American Conference team pressured NIU offensively.

“We were interested in pushing the ball up the floor, yes,” he said. “(Rocket guard) John Vandecaveye does a nice job pushing the ball up and making things happen.”

Davis’ 33 points led all scorers. Norman was next on the Huskie list with 21. Burnham’s 25 points tied him with forward Jeff Haar for the Rocket team lead and was his highest point total since the Jan. 21 game in DeKalb.