Heading into Sunday’s MAC contest against Toledo, NIU’s Jarvis Nichols was averaging nine points a game.

During a stretch in the first half, it took the junior a mere 77 seconds to reach that amount. The 6-foot-2 guard came off the bench and sank back-to-back­-to-back threes to help the Huskies pull away from the Rockets and ultimately win 78-62.

The run started when NIU was up 17-14 in the first half. He then pushed the lead to double digits.

It also may be just the spark Nichols has been looking for after recent struggles.

In NIU’s (4-10 overall, 1-1 MAC) previous five games, Nichols has gone just 3-for-22 from long range.

“I got into a good rhythm and it made it easier to make shots,” Nichols said. “My teammates were looking for me.”

Despite going up by 12 after Nichols’ run, the Rockets brought the lead back down to six points in the first half. But before the buzzer the Carol Stream native hit another trey to give NIU more breathing room.

Toledo (4-10, 1-1) was never able to go on a big run, as Nichols’ specialty on the night was preventing that.

Even when the Rockets pulled to within nine, Nichols drilled three free throws after getting fouled on a long-range shot.

“They took advantage of every opportunity,” Toledo head coach Stan Joplin said. “It hurt us because we kept creeping back in there and then we wouldn’t rotate defensively.”

Nichols finished with a game-high 21 points on 4-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc, besting the career high of 18 he set earlier this season.

Aside from helping the team with his three-point shooting, Nichols was a solid 9-for-10 from the charity stripe, keeping Toledo from getting back in the game.

The guard has been making the most of his playing time this season and is leading NIU in scoring, despite starting only one game.