Jan. 9, 2005

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AMHERST, N.Y. (AP) - Senior guard Keith Triplett tallied a game-high 24 points but Toledo (5-7, 1-2 MAC) saw a 15-point second-half lead disappear in its 56-54 defeat at Buffalo (9-3, 2-2 MAC) on Sunday afternoon. The Rockets' loss to the Bulls was UT's first ever at the hands of Buffalo.

Triplett's effort continued his scoring prowess against the Bulls as he is averaging 21.0 ppg in his career vs. UB, his highest scoring average against any MAC team. He also moved into fifth place on the Rockets' scoring list with 1,563 career points.

Mario Jordan led Buffalo with 14 points with Turner Battle adding 11 points (all in the second half).

Toledo played its best defensive half of the season to take a 26-19 advantage at halftime. The Rockets started out the game slowly as UB surged to a 13-5 advantage in the first eight minutes. But after a UT timeout, the Rockets went on a 15-0 run including eight straight points by sophomore guard Keonta Howell for a 20-13 lead with just under seven minutes remaining in the half. Toledo extended its lead to as many as nine points but settled for a seven-point cushion at halftime.

The Rockets continued to dominate in the second half and extended their advantage to 48-33 with 11:10 left in the regulation. However, the Bulls mounted a 20-0 scoring run that left UB with a 53-48 lead with 3:56 left in the game. Jordan hit a layup to give UB a 56-50 lead with 2:20 remaining. However, the Rockets scored four unanswered points to cut the Buffalo lead to two with one minute left. Toledo had several cracks to tie or win the game in the waning moments, but junior guard Sammy Villegas, sophomore center Allen Pinson and Triplett each missed a shot in the final seconds.

Toledo will be back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 12 when it hosts Ball State (7-4, 2-1 MAC) in a 7:00 p.m. tipoff at Savage Hall.