Jan. 31, 2005

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TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - Senior guard Keith Triplett scored 21 points and sophomore guard Keonta Howell pitched in a career-high 20 points off the bench to lead Toledo to an 83-77 victory over MAC West Division leader Western Michigan on Monday.

Howell went 7-for-13 from the field and 4-for-7 from three-point range in 22 minutes for the Rockets (9-9, 5-4 Mid-American Conference), who closed out the game with a 7-0 run. Sophomore guard Justin Ingram added 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

Ben Reed led Western Michigan (14-6, 7-3) with 21 points and Levi Rost finished with 17 points and seven boards.

Rickey Willis made two free throws to give the Broncos a 77-76 lead with 2:04 left but Triplett then hit two from the line to get the lead back for Toledo.

Sophomore forward Florentino Valencia got loose for a layup to increase the lead to 80-77 with 21 seconds remaining, and the Rockets hit 3-of-4 from the line in final seconds to hold on.

Valencia finished with 11 points and Kashif Payne had 10 points and a game-high seven assists for the Rockets, who improved to 6-0 at home. Payne kept UT within striking distance in the final stages by scoring all 10 of his points in a four-minute stretch just before the two-minute mark.

Toledo continues its three-game homestand on Thursday, Feb. 3 with an 8:00 p.m. contest vs. MAC East Division leader Miami (12-5, 7-2 MAC). The Rockets are now one game in the loss column behind WMU, Bowling Green (12-5, 6-3 MAC) and Ball State (11-6, 6-3 MAC).