TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo (12-2, 0-1 MAC) ­­­could never get untracked in its Mid-American Conference opener vs. Ball State (10-4, 1-0 MAC) in Savage Arena on Friday evening in a 79-64 loss to the Cardinals. The defeat snapped the Rockets' 10-game winning streak and also was UT's first in eight home contests this season.

Senior Chris Darrington paced a balanced Rocket attack with 13 points off the bench. Senior Jaelan Sanford also scored in double digits with 12 points, with juniors Willie Jackson and Luke Knapke each contributing 10 points.

Senior Taylor Persons led Ball State with 21 points, while junior Tahjai Teague tallied 20 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

The Rockets were limited to a 36.2 field-goal percentage, including an 8-of-30 effort (26.7 percent) behind the three-point arc. Ball State was consistent offensively throughout, shooting 48.4 percent in the first half and 48.5 percent in the second half.

Toledo returns to action on Tuesday, Jan. 8 when it travels to Buffalo, N.Y. to face the No. 20-ranked Bulls (13-1, 1-0 MAC).

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

• Ball State led from the outset after scoring the game's first nine points. Junior Willie Jackson's put-back at the 15:01 mark was the Rockets' first basket of the game.
• Five straight points from Luke Knapke reduced UT's deficit to 17-14 with 9:36 remaining in the first half.
• Tahjai Teague's three-pointer capped a 10-2 spurt that put the Cardinals up 27-16 just over three minutes later.
• Marreon Jackson's back-to-back three-pointers cut Ball State's lead to 29-22 just under the five-minute mark but Ball State was able to take a 38-26 lead at intermission.

SECOND HALF

• Jaelan Sanford scored the first five points after halftime with an 18-foot jumper and a deep trey to cut Ball State's lead to seven.
• The Cardinals quickly responded with an 11-2 run to increase their lead to 49-33 with 15:47 to play.
• Spencer Littleson's trey and three more points from Chris Darrington cut the Rockets' deficit to 53-43 with 12:19 remaining but that was as close as Toledo would get.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Toledo outrebounded the Cardinals by a 41-40 margin, marking the first game UT has lost when winning the battle of the boards.
• Freshman AJ Edu tied his season high with five blocked shots to go along with three points and six rebounds.
• Senior Nate Navigato didn't connect on a three-point field goal for just the second game this season.
• Senior Chris Darrington is the sixth Rocket to lead UT in scoring this season.