TOLEDO, Ohio – Kyle O'Quinn scored off an inbound pass from Pendarvis Williams with 2.4 seconds left to break a tie and give Norfolk State a 72-70 win at Toledo's Savage Hall on Tuesday night, the Spartans' first-ever win in three tries against Mid-American Conference opposition.

Toledo (7-4) rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to tie the game at 70-all on a Rian Pearson basket with 34 seconds left. The Spartans got the ball back and Brandon Wheeless missed a layup at the other end for NSU. The Rockets' DeLino Dear collected the loose ball, but stepped out of bounds with 3.8 seconds remaining to turn the ball back over to the Spartans. After both teams called timeouts, Williams inbounded to O'Quinn, who scored the last of his 16 points to give NSU (8-5) the lead.

The Rockets were unable to get off a shot in the closing seconds.

Williams led NSU with 17 points, O'Quinn had 16 points, nine rebounds and five blocks, and Chris McEachin scored 15 points. The trio combined to make 22 of their 36 field goal attempts.

Toledo jumped out to an 11-4 lead after the first six minutes before NSU's defense and a balanced offense helped the Spartans get back into it. A three-point play by Quasim Pugh gave NSU its first advantage since the opening minutes, at 17-15 at the 8:27 mark.

The teams traded scores over the next two minutes before NSU went on an 11-0 run to open up a 30-19 lead. Rob Johnson scored five points in the spurt and Williams hit a pair of field goals. The Spartans were able to ride that momentum to a 41-33 halftime lead. Williams had nine first-half points and was one of five Spartans who scored at least five in the opening period.

NSU controlled the second half, leading up to Pearson's field goal in the final minute. Williams capped an 8-0 run midway through the second half with a pair of buckets to give the Spartans their largest advantage of the game, 60-47, with 8:52 remaining.

Toledo answered with six straight points, slowly chipping away at NSU's lead. NSU still maintained a 70-65 lead after two free throws by Williams at the 2:12 mark, but back-to-back turnovers allowed the Rockets to tie the game. After the first giveaway, Pearson hit a 3-pointer to cut his team's deficit to two. Pearson then stole the ball and converted at the other end to tie things up.

But NSU wasn't fazed. O'Quinn's winning bucket gave the second for the Spartans in the final three seconds of a game this season. Wheeless hit a game-winning 3-pointer for a 60-58 NSU win over Savannah State on Dec. 3.

Pugh was the fourth Spartan in double figures, scoring 10 points for the second time in his first three games at NSU. The Spartans shot 55.6 percent (30-of-54) from the floor, their second-best effort of the season, while holding Toledo to just 40 percent accuracy (23-of-57). NSU also outrebounded the Rockets 35-28.

Curtis Dennis led Toledo with 20 points (17 in the first half), Pearson had 16, and Reese Holliday added 11.

The victory was the Spartans' first true road win of the year after five home wins and two neutral-site triumphs at the Paradise Jam. It also gives NSU five non-conference Division I wins already this season, the most since the university moved to Division I in 1997-98. NSU entered with an 0-2 record against MAC opponents prior to Tuesday, with losses to Ohio last season and Kent State during the 2009-10 campaign.

The Spartans continue their four-game road swing with a 2 p.m. game Friday at St. Francis in Brooklyn, N.Y.