Eight in a Row!! Rockets Roll Over Middle Tennessee, 84-62

Saturday, December 15

Toledo, Ohio

7:00 p.m.

University of Toledo

10-1

Middle Tennessee

3-8

Middle Tennessee

Toledo

Sophomore Marreon Jackson scored a season-high 17 points in Toledo's 84-62 win over Middle Tennessee.

Eight in a Row!! Rockets Roll Over Middle Tennessee, 84-62

12/15/2018 10:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Final Stats (PDF)

TOLEDO, Ohio – Sophomore Marreon Jackson led a balanced attack with a season-high 17 points on Saturday evening to propel Toledo (10-1) to a convincing 84-62 victory over Middle Tennessee (3-8). The Rockets' victory was their eighth in a row, marking UT's longest unbeaten stretch since opening the 2013-14 campaign with 12 straight victories.

Joining Jackson in double figures were senior Nate Navigato (16 pts, 4-of-5 3fg), senior Jaelan Sanford (12 pts.), senior Chris Darrington (12 pts., 6-of-6 FTs) and junior Luke Knapke (12 pts.).

Junior Willie Jackson tallied a team-high 12 rebounds, but fell short of his seventh double-double by finishing with seven points.

Juniors Antonio Green and Reggie Scurry paced the Blue Raiders with 13 points apiece. UT held Green over five points below his team-high 18.5 scoring average.

The Rockets also limited MTSU to a 42.6 shooting mark, including a 4-of-17 effort (23.5) behind the three-point arc. Toledo shot 45.9 percent from the field and was 11-of-26 (42.3) percent from downtown.

The Rockets continue their four-game homestand on Wednesday, Dec. 19 against Cornell (4-4). The Big Red will be the first of two Ivy League opponents UT will face with a visit from Penn (9-2) looming on Saturday, Dec. 29

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

Middle Tennessee scored the game's first five points. Luke Knapke's three-pointer gave Toledo its first lead, 10-9, at the 16:28 mark and Jaelan Sanford's jumper just over 30 seconds later put the Rockets ahead to stay.
Marreon Jackson's three provided the Rockets their first double-digit advantage, 30-18, with 9:03 remaining in the first half.
The Rockets closed out the first half with a 6-0 spurt in the final 40 seconds to take a 48-30 lead at intermission. Jackson buried a jumper to begin the spurt and Nate Navigato and Chris Darrington each hit two free throws with 2.6 seconds remaining after Middle Tennessee was whistled for a technical foul.
Toledo shot 55.6 percent in the first half, including 7 of 13 from 3-point range. The Rockets were also 11-of-13 from the free-throw line and committed just two turnovers.
Darrington, Jackson and Sanford each scored a team-high 10 points in the first half.

SECOND HALF

Toledo's lead dipped to 14 points just twice in the first seven minutes of the second half.
The Rockets put the game away with a 12-0 spurt for a 68-42 cushion with 8:09 to play. Knapke and Marreon Jackson keyed the game-clinching run with five points apiece.
Middle Tennessee hit a pair of three-pointers in the final minute to reduce UT's final margin of victory to 22.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

The Rockets' 10-1 start is their best since opening the 2013-14 campaign with 12 straight victories.
Toledo has had at least four players score in double digits in 10 of 11 contests and has had five players scoring in double figures on five occasions.
Toledo entered the contest ranked seventh nationally with a 78.4 FT%. The Rockets were 17-of-21 (81.0 percent) from the charity stripe to raise their season mark to 78.6
Toledo was outrebounded by a 38-36 margin, marking just the third time this season UT has lost the battle of the boards.
Nate Navigato was 4-of-5 from three-point range and has hit three or more treys in nine of 11 contests.

Highlights from UT's win over Middle Tennessee.

Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk post-game interview.

Sophomore Marreon Jackson post-game interview.