ANCHORAGE, AK – Middle Tennessee's quick start to the second half proved to be too much for Toledo to overcome as the Rockets fell to the Blue Raiders, 78-70, in Saturday's championship game of the Great Alaska Shootout. The Blue Raiders snapped a 32-32 halftime deadlock with an 8-0 spurt which ended up being the difference in the contest.

Junior guard Jonathan Williams and senior center Nathan Boothe were the only Rockets to crack double figures in points with 20 and 19 points, respectively. Boothe also paced UT with 12 boards and five assists and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Joining the Rocket big man on the all-tournament team were Williams and sophomore guard Stuckey Mosley.

Toledo shot 46.4 percent, including a 39.4 mark in the second half, and were just 6-of-21 (28.6 percent) from three-point range. The Blue Raiders operated at an efficient 52.8 shooting clip and knocked down 10-of-23 shots from long distance.

Both teams committed fewer than 10 turnovers with UT posting an 18-9 assist/turnover ratio and Middle Tennessee registering a 16-9 mark. The Blue Raiders held a slim 30-27 advantage on the boards.

Junior forward Reggie Upshaw led Middle Tennessee in scoring with 17 points.

The Rockets led for much of the opening stanza after scoring the game's first five points. UT's largest lead was 23-14 following a Mosley trey just under seven minutes before halftime. MTU responded with with a 10-2 burst to cut the Rockets' lead to one before Boothe answered with a pair of buckets.

Upshaw drilled a desperation three-pointer from the top of the key at the buzzer to knot the score at 32 apiece.

The Rockets clawed back to within a point, 52-51, on Mosley's lay-in with just over 10 minutes to play. That was short-lived for UT though as Middle Tennessee scored 10 unanswered points for an 11-point cushion with 7:07 left.

The closest Toledo came down the stretch was within six points.

The Rockets return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 2 with a home matchup vs. Cleveland State. Tip-off time in Savage Arena is set for 7:00 p.m.