FINDLAY, Ohio – Toledo nearly rallied from a nine-point deficit in the final minute in Tuesday's charity exhibition contest at NCAA Division II power Findlay but came up just short in an 89-86 setback. Junior forward Nate Navigato had a chance to tie the contest at the buzzer but his three-point attempt rimmed out.

The contest was played before 1,215 fans in Croy Gymnasium and over $6,500 was raised for the hurricane relief efforts being conducted by the American Red Cross.

"To be able to raise this amount of money for the American Red Cross was very important for us and this was a great game for all of Northwest Ohio," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "I have an unbelievable amount of respect for Findlay. They have a veteran team that can win a national championship. We went on the road to be tested in a loud gym where it was hard to communicate on the floor. That's what happened, and we certainly learned a lot tonight and will learn even more when we watch the video."

Senior guard Tre'Shaun Fletcher, a transfer from the University of Colorado, topped the Rockets with 23 points and nine rebounds in his first contest in a Midnight Blue and Gold uniform. Junior guard Jaelan Sanford also enjoyed a strong offensive outing with 22 points. Freshman guard Marreon Jackson and Navigato were in double digits in the scoring column as well with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Toledo outshot Findlay by a slim margin, 50.0-48.6, from the field. The Oilers knocked down 13-of-25 (52.0 percent) three-point attempts compared to the Rockets' 8-of-18 totals (44.4 percent). UT held a sizable advantage at the charity stripe, converting 28-of-33 (84.8 percent) compared to UF's 6-of-9 total.

The Rockets held a 36-31 advantage on the boards but was hurt by 17 turnovers that led to 27 Oiler points.

After taking an early 8-5 lead, Toledo trailed for much of the opening stanza as Findlay took a 48-39 advantage into the intermission. The Rockets picked up their defensive intensity after the half and evened the score at 48-all on a Fletcher layup with 15:34 to play.

Toledo took its biggest lead of the evening, 58-53, following a Navigato trey nearly three minutes llater.

Findlay responded with a 9-0 burst to take a 68-60 lead with 8:43 to play, but the Rockets clawed back to within a point, 73-72, at the 6:39 mark. The Oilers wouldn't let UT regain the lead though and extended their cushion to 89-80 with 56 seconds to play.

Fletcher began Toledo's comeback bid with a layup and Jackson followed with a  steal and layup to draw Toledo within 89-84 with 42 seconds left.  The Rockets then forced a five-second call and Sanford's layup made it a one-possession contest, 89-86 with 32 seconds left.

Following an Oiler miss from the charity stripe, Sanford couldn't convert on a three-pointer with four seconds to play but the Rockets gained possession after the rebound went off a Findlay player with 2.9 seconds remaining.
 
Toledo will host NCAA Division III foe Trine University in its final exhibition game on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 2:30 p.m.