YPSILANTI, MI – Toledo rallied from a 20-point first-half deficit but that wasn't enough to pull off a win over No. 8 seed Eastern Michigan (18-14) in the first round of the 2016 Mid-American Conference Tournament. The Eagles were able to regroup after the No. 9 seed Rockets (17-15) took a 57-55 lead with 2:27 to play to gain a 69-60 triumph and a berth in Thursday's MAC quarterfinals in Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena.

Senior center Nathan Boothe notched a team-high 16 points and 10 rebounds for his 14^th double-double of the season to lead UT. Three other Rockets – sophomore guard Stuckey Mosley (12 pts.), junior guard Jonathan Williams (11 pts.) and freshman forward Nate Navigato (10 pts.) – also scored in double digits.

Junior guard Raven Lee topped EMU with 19 points off the bench with sophomore guard Tim Bond adding 15 points and a team-high five steals.

UT was limited to a 41.5 shooting mark, including a 7-of-23 showing (30.4 percent) behind the three-point arc. EMU didn't fare much better with a 44.6 field-goal percentage and a 29.4 three-point total (5-of-17).

The Eagles were 14-of-21 (66.7 percent) from the charity stripe, while the Rockets converted 9-of-14 (64.3 percent) free throws.

Toledo held a 34-32 advantage on the boards but committed 19 turnovers, seven more than EMU.

Eastern Michigan took control early by forcing eight turnovers in the first nine minutes en route to a 16-5 advantage. Williams and Mosley ended a four-minute scoreless drought with five quick points to cut UT's deficit to 16-10 with 10:01 remaining in the first half.

The Eagles took their largest lead of the game, 36-16, following senior forward Brandon Nazione's three-pointer two minutes before halftime.

Toledo then caught fire with a 12-0 spurt spanning the first and second halves to cut the Eagles' cushion to single digits. Mosley opened the second half with a traditional three-point play and a three-point shot before Boothe nailed a jumper to bring the Rockets within 36-28 with 17:51 remaining.

UT couldn't get any closer until over 10 minutes later when Navigato buried a trey from the top of the key to make it a four-point contest, 53-49, at the 6:35 mark.

The Rockets kept pushing and tied the score at 55-55 on a Williams' trey with 2:57 remaining. Following a Bond miss, freshman guard Jaelan Sanford's layup gave UT its first lead since the opening minute.

EMU immediately responded with nine straight points thanks to three straight Toledo turnovers. Back-to-back layups from Bond and Lee put the Eagles back in front 59-57. Bond then drove to the basket for a three-point play, putting UT down 62-57 with 1:05 to play. 

Eastern Michigan closed out the victory by making seven of eight free throws in the final minute.