Toledo, Ohio – Senior guard
Jaelan Sanford scored 15 of his team-high 19 points in the first half to lead Toledo (14-3, 2-2 MAC) to a 71-59 victory over the Miami RedHawks (8-9, 0-4 MAC) at Savage Arena on Tuesday. The victory was the Rockets' 11th straight over the RedHawks and improved UT's record in Savage Arena to 8-1 this season.
Joining Sanford in double figures were sophomore guard
Spencer Littleson (12 pts.), junior center
Luke Knapke (11 pts.) and sophomore guard
Marreon Jackson (10 pts.). Littleson knocked down 4-of-6 shots from long range and added a career-high seven rebounds.
Toledo shot 42.9 percent from the floor and went 10-for-26 from three-point range. The Rockets held Miami to 39.2 percent on the floor and just 5-of-16 from beyond the arc. UT had 18 assists and just seven turnovers, while the RedHawks tallied just four assists and 11 miscues.
After trailing 8-7 early in the game, Toledo surged to a 26-10 lead before settling on a 39-30 halftime lead. Miami cut the lead to one, 51-50, midway through the second half but Toledo pulled away down the stretch.
FIRST HALF
- Toledo scored the first five points of the game and extended its lead to 19-8 on a layup by Willie Jackson at the 10:04 mark.
- Moments later, a fast-break dunk by Jaelan Sanford on a behind-the-back pass from Marreon Jackson pushed Toledo's lead to 23-10 and forced Miami to call a timeout.
- The Rockets went into the locker room leading 39-30.
- Sanford scored 15 points shot 5-of-7 on the floor, and 2-of-2 from the three-point line in the first half.
SECOND HALF
- Miami opened the half with an 11-5 run to cut the lRockets' lead to 44-41 with 13:56 left to play.
- The RedHawks reduced their deficit to one point, 49-48, on a short hook shot by Bam Bowman at the 9:55 mark.
- Toledo countered with a 10-4 run that was capped by a layup from Luke Knapke to make the score 59-52 and forcing Miami to call a timeout with 6:01 to play.
- The Rockets extended the lead to 13 with a three by Spencer Littleson to make the score 69-56 with 2:30 left.
- Sanford finished off the Redhawks with a dunk to make the score 71-58 with 41 seconds left to play.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Jaelan Sanford moved into a tie for ninth place with Casey Shaw (1994-98) on the Rockets' all-time scoring list with 1,562 points, one more than Tom Kozelko (1970-73).
- Nate Navigato is just one three-point field goal away from tying Nick Moore's school record of 276 set from 1999-2003. Navigato also move into fifth place on the MAC's all-time three-point list, one ahead of Ohio's D.J. Cooper (2010-13).
- Marreon Jackson grabbed the Rockets' only steals in the contest and finished with a career-high four thefts.
- Spencer Littleson tied his career high with four three-point field goals and grabbed a career-best seven boards.
- Luke Knapke has scored in double digits in each of the Rockets' four league games.
UP NEXT
- The Rockets host Ohio in a 7:00 p.m. tipoff on Friday. The contest will be televised nationally by the CBS Sports Network.
Highlights from UT's win over Miami.
Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk post-game.
Sophomore Marreon Jackson post-game.