WILMINGTON, NC - A first-half scoring drought doomed Toledo (3-10) on Thursday evening in the Rockets' 64-42 setback to UNC Wilmington (6-6) at Trask Coliseum. The defeat snapped UT's three-game winning streak.
Freshman G Reese Holliday topped Toledo offensively with 13 points with freshman C Delino Dear nearly notching his second-straight double-double with eight points and nine boards. Redshirt freshman F Hayden Humes shared team rebounding honors with Dear and helped the Rockets post a 35-34 advantage on the boards.
Senior G Chad Tomko scored a game-high 22 points, nailing five treys for UNCW. He was joined in double figures by junior G Trevor Deloach with 13 points.
The Seahawks were red-hot from behind the three-point arc, knocking down 12 treys for a 38.7 three-point field-goal percentage.
"We certainly didn't defend the three-point line well tonight," Toledo Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "We weren't contesting their three-point shots the way we needed to, and that's their specialty.
Toledo struggled from the field and was limited to a 37.5 shooting mark, including a season-low 12.5 percent (2-of-16) from three-point range. The Rockets had entered the contest with a 39.5 three-point field-goal percentage in their last seven games.
"UNC Wilmington changed up their defenses throughout the game and that bothered us," Kowalczyk said. "We have to do a better job recognizing those and attacking them. It's something that we're going to learn from and make us a better team."
Toledo scored the first seven points of the contest, but UNCW took control when the Rockets went ice cold for over 13 minutes. Sophomore G Malcolm Griffin registered the team's only field goal during this stretch as the Seahawks went on a 23-3 run. Toledo wasn't able to come within double digits the remainder of the evening as the hosts took a 33-16 advantage into intermission.
Toledo will remain on the road and return to action on Monday, Jan. 3 when it takes on Southeastern Conference foe Alabama (7-6). Tip-off time is set for 7:00 p.m. CT.
