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EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Toledo's Keith Triplett hit five-of-six free throw attempts in the final minute and knew his performance would be key.

"I had to make them," said Triplett, who as 9-for-10 from the line Monday and scored 17 points as the Rockets upset No. 14 Michigan State 81-76. "I felt as though I would have lost the game if I hadn't."

It was the first non-conference loss for the Spartans in 36 games, since a 68-65 loss to Detroit on Dec. 13, 1997.

"Obviously, we are happy with the win tonight," said Toledo coach Stan Joplin, a former assistant to Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. "We knew we would have to play well coming in here and we did a lot of good things tonight."

Izzo, on the other hand, wasn't pleased with his team's effort.

"The better team won tonight," he said. "They outplayed us in just about every phase. We tried a phony comeback and lost. We didn't deserve to win at the end."

Triplett's free throws came after Michigan State (8-3) had overcome a 65-52 deficit to tie the game, 71-71, on Chris Hill's 3-pointer with 2:00 remaining.

"That's what the game is about; it's a game of runs," Triplett said. "The key is, you've got to finish. We needed the free throws, and we got them to win the game."

Following a 3-pointer by Toledo's Nick Moore, Kelvin Torbert tied the game again with a 3-pointer 1:10 left.

After three Triplett free throws gave Toledo a 77-74 lead, Adam Ballenger hit a basket to get Michigan State to within one with 20 seconds left. But that was close as the Spartans would get.

"Everyone thought we were going to pull it out in the end," Michigan State's Chris Hill said. "Give them credit. They hit their free throws."

"Personally, this is one of the most disappointing losses in a long time," Michigan State's Aloysius Anagonye said. "We've got to give them credit. They played better defense. They hit their shots and we didn't defend them. We did not perform on defense."

Izzo was more blunt.

"I'm looking for 40 minutes of effort, and we haven't gotten it yet," he said. "If things keep going like this, it's going to be a long season.

Joplin, who admitted to mixed emotions coaching against the Spartans, went into the game hoping merely for a better performance than his team's last trip to the Breslin Center, which saw Michigan State rout the Rockets, 78-33.

"We knew we would have to play extremely well to win here," he said. "They don't lose here very often."

Joplin said he wasn't going to spend too much time celebrating the victory.

"We'll celebrate for a day, at least," he said. "But after that we have to get ready for Northern Illinois (at Toledo on Jan. 8). If we lay an egg against Northern Illinois, this game won't mean much."

Morris and Hill each had a game-high 19 points. Triplett had 17 points and Sammy Villegas had 11 for Toledo, while Torbert and Anagonye had 16 apiece for Michigan State.