MT. PLEASANT, MI - A sluggish start to the first half was too much for Toledo to overcome on Saturday evening in an 85-69 defeat to Central Michigan at McGuirk Arena in the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams.
Sophomore G Rian Pearson paced the Rockets (8-7) with a game-high 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists with junior G Curtis Dennis contributing 19 points. Also in double digits for UT were sophomore F Reese Holliday (11 pts., 7 reb.) and sophomore F DeLino Dear (10 pts.). Freshman G Julius Brown distributed a game-high seven assists but was limited to just two points.
"Rian played very well tonight and brought a lot of energy to the court," Toledo Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said.
Sophomore G Trey Zeigler topped a balanced Chippewa attack with 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Also scoring in double figures for CMU were freshman G Austin McBroom (16 pts.), sophomore G Derek Jackson (14 pts.) and senior F Andre Coimbra (10 pts.),
Toledo shot 45.5 percent for the game, but allowed the Chippewas convert on 55.6 percent of their shot attempts.
The Rockets connected on just 2-of-13 shots and committed 10 turnovers in the first 13 minutes, but a 10-0 spurt brought UT within 30-24 with 4:44 remaining in the opening stanza. That was as close as Toledo could get the rest of the half, though, as CMU took a 46-36 advantage to its locker room.
"Our turnovers killed us in the first half and led to several easy baskets for CMU," Kowalczyk said. "Once we settled in I thought we did fine offensively. We just couldn't get the stops we needed to complete a comeback."
Toledo reduced its deficit to single digits in the second half on eight occasions, but CMU turned away each rally. Dennis' layup with 4:20 remaining pulled UT within 74-66 but Zeigler's five straight points sealed the Rockets' fate.
Toledo returns to action on Tuesday, Jan. 10 when it hosts MAC West Division foe Ball State in Savage Arena. Tip-off time is set for 7:00 p.m. with the contest being televised by SportsTime Ohio.
