With its first sweep of Toledo in 20 years, the NIU men’s basketball team is assured at least a top four seed in the MAC Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Huskies topped the Rockets 85-75 Saturday night at the Convocation Center in front of 5,272 fans.

NIU (15-11, 11-5 MAC) had four players in double digit scoring and two with double-doubles.

Toledo (11-15, 5-11 MAC) rocketed out of the gates quickly, getting out to a 21-12 advantage. But with 7:33 left in the first half, the momentum took a drastic change with Toledo up 26-16.

“We weren’t getting back and they had a lot of easy transition buckets on us,” Toledo guard Nick Moore explained.

Indeed the Huskies hit Toledo with a barrage of transition buckets, but that wasn’t all. With an assortment of long-range artistry, layups and rim-rattling slam dunks, NIU went on a 19-0 run and held the Rockets scoreless for seven minutes and 15 seconds from the end of the first half to the beginning of the second.

“We just brought the intensity that we needed,” NIU forward Marcus Smallwood said. “We had them down and we just wanted to keep the pressure on them.”

The Huskies never let Toledo back in the game after their stretch run, keeping at least a 7-point lead the last 13 in a half minutes of the game. NIU scored a season-high 56 points in the second half.

With the win and only two games left, the Huskies clinched at least a top four spot for the MAC Tournament, which means they’ll receive a first-round bye or face last place Buffalo at home. (See sidebar for more.)

Senior Jay Bates had a team-high 18 points, including 10-11 free-throw shooting. Perry Smith and Smallwood complemented Bates with 17 points apiece. Jamel Staten had his first career double-double as a Huskie with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Smallwood also had 11 rebounds.

“Our first key of the game today was to get back on track and win the rebounding battle,” said NIU coach Rob Judson, who’s team had 14 more rebounds than Toledo. “We accomplished that and that really set the tone for the game.”

The Rockets didn’t have any double-digit rebounders. They were led by junior guard Keith Triplett with 29 points, including 5-of-8 three-point shooting. Moore had 17 points and Sammy Villegas, one of the MAC Freshman of the Year front-runners, totaled 14 points.

“How we played in the first half, we played the exact opposite in the second half,” said seven-year Toledo coach Stan Joplin, who called this season his most disappointing. “We were too casual and the turnovers really hurt us.”