Nov 26, 2003

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TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - Senior guard Keith Triplett scored 21 points - more than half of them on free throws - and grabbed a team-high six rebounds to lead Toledo to a 78-74 victory over Youngstown State in its home opener at Savage Hall on Wednesday.

Triplett made 5 of 12 field goals and went 11-for-14 from the line for the Rockets (2-0). Freshman guard Justin Ingram added 12 points, sophomore guard Sammy Villegas had 11 and freshman forward Florentino Valencia came off the bench to score 10.

The Penguins (0-2) took control early with a 10-2 lead to open the game and were up 19-17 with 11:44 left in the first half when Toledo went on a 13-0 run, including seven points from Ingram.

The Rockets never trailed after that but had to fend off a Penguin rally in the second half.

Adam Baumann scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half and added nine rebounds to lead the Penguins.

Youngstown State tied it at 65-65 with 5:53 left to play on a three-pointer by Jonathan Mends, who finished with 10 points.

But Triplett completed a three-point play and redshirt freshman center Allen Pinson jammed home a pair of offensive rebounds to ignite a 9-0 run by the Rockets, making it 74-65 with two minutes left. Triplett then hit four straight free throws in the final 30 seconds to put it away.

Brian Radakovich added 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds and TeJay Anderson had 11 points for Youngstown State.

Toledo returns to action on Sunday, Nov. 30 when it travels to Athens, OH for its Mid-American Conference opener at Ohio University (1-2). Tip-off time is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.