Recap: Eastern Ill vs. Toledo

Charleston, IL (Sports Network) - Rian Pearson scored 22 points and was a rebound short of a double-double as the Toledo Rockets defeated the Eastern Illinois Panthers, 67-59, at Lantz Arena.

Dominique Buckley added 13 points and Julius Brown and Matt Smith each chipped in 10 for Toledo (3-6) which has won consecutive games for the first time this season.

Alex Austin paced Eastern Illinois (3-8) with 21 points. Josh Piper netted 17 points and Sherman Blanford had 10 points to go with six rebounds.

Toledo led 26-21 at halftime by shooting 52.6 percent from the field including a 4-of-8 showing from 3-point range. Eastern Illinois shot just 25.0 percent in the opening period but stayed within striking distance by hitting 5-of-14 shots from beyond the arc.

The Rockets heated up to 64.0 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes and led by as many as 13 points en route to the win.

Toledo had the better game on the interior outscoring Eastern Illinois 30-16 on points in the paint.