CLEVELAND, OH - Toledo couldn't slow down a hot-shooting Cleveland State squad in the second half on Saturday evening as the Rockets came up on the short end of a 87-63 loss to the Vikings. The contest was played at the Wolstein Center as part of ESPNU BracketBusters.

CSU outscored the Rockets by a 53-30 margin and registered a 74.1 shooting mark after halftime after UT had put together one of its best offensive halves of the season. Toledo trailed by just a 34-33 margin at intermission after shooting 60.9 percent.

"When you shoot the way we did you should be able to win," Toledo Head Coach Gene Cross said. "But you can't when you allow a team to shoot as well as Cleveland State did."

Freshman G Jake Barnett led UT offensively with 15 points with junior F Justin Anyijong (13 pts.) and freshman F Jordan Dressler (12 pts.) also scoring in double figures.

Junior G Norris Cole led five Vikings in double-figures with 18 points and six assists, while redshirt freshman F Charlie Woods scored a career-high 15 points by hitting all five of his three-point attempts.

The Rockets surged to an 8-2 lead less than three minutes in as Anyijong and Barnett both knocked down treys. UT was able to maintain its lead until Woods hit back-to-back threes to give CSU a 16-15 lead with 13:11 remaining in the first half. Toledo went into the locker room down by just a point when freshman G Kevin Rohner connected from downtown at the buzzer for his first points as a Rocket.

Sophomore G Larry Bastfield got UT off to a good start in the second half when he converted a three-point play on the first possession for a 36-34 lead. The Vikings then started pressing though and forced six UT turnovers in the first four minutes of the second half leading to a 16-0 run to take control of the game.

"We were able to handle their pressure in the first half, and that's something we were very concerned about going into the game," Cross said. "They turned it up a notch in the second half though and we ended up making too many mistakes."

Both teams finished with 20 rebounds as each registered season-high shooting marks from the field. CSU connected on 64.0 percent (32-of-50), while Toledo hit .568 (25-of-44). However, turnovers proved to be the difference with the Vikings committing just eight and forcing 18 Rocket miscues that they turned into 26 points.

Toledo is back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 24 when it hosts Western Michigan. Tip-off time is 7:00 p.m. in Savage Arena.