Men’s basketball dropped its ninth consecutive game Tuesday night, falling 70-46 to Toledo.

The Huskies (5-23, 3-12 MAC) fell behind early, 18-5, after a 13-0 run by the Rockets (14-13, 9-6 MAC). NIU was never able to overcome that deficit.

“I think they scored off our turnovers,” said head coach Mark Montgomery. “We missed a lot of inside shots. We had opportunities to score within 5 feet from the basket… We didn’t finish around the basket and they took advantage of it.”

The Huskies never cut the lead to less than 13 the rest of the game and they went into the half trailing the Rockets 34-20.

In the first half, the Rockets outshot the Huskies, shooting 41 percent compared to the Huskies’ 29 percent. They also hit four 3-pointers compared to the Huskies’ one 3-pointer.

“Our game plan was to go inside and get to the basket,” Montgomery said. “But they jumped out on us and they went up 19 and we cut it to 14. We didn’t take advantage of some of our transition opportunities… We just didn’t have enough guys that stepped up to make more offensive plays for us.”

Out of the half, Toledo only increased its lead going on an 11-3 run sparked by a 3-point field goal from junior forward Matt Smith. This brought the Rockets’ lead over the Huskies to 45-22.

The Rockets were able to maintain their lead in the second half thanks to six 3-point field goals. In the game they hit a total of 10 3-pointers compared to just three 3-pointers from the Huskies. Smith and senior guard Dominique Buckley led the Rockets with three 3-pointers each.

With 1:44 remaining in the game, Toledo pushed its lead to the largest of the game when it took a 28-point lead, 70-42.

Toledo shot 42 percent from the field and had three players score in double figures. Smith led the way with a game-high 16 points, Buckley dropped 13 points and junior guard Rian Pearson added in 10 points.

The Huskies struggled shooting as a team in the game, as they shot 29 percent from the field. Only junior forward Aksel Bolin scored in double figures, grabbing a team-high 14 points. Freshman guard Mike Davis added in eight points and seven rebounds.

“We needed some other guys to step up and shoot better percentages,” Montgomery said. “We just didn’t get it and if we’re going to compete and win games, you have to have multiple guys in double figures.”