Knapke Blocks School-Record 10 Shots in Rockets' 80-65 Win

Wednesday, December 4

Cleveland, Ohio

7:00 p.m.

University of Toledo

6-2

Cleveland State

4-5

Toledo

Cleveland State

Senior Luke Knapke set a school record with 10 blocks at Cleveland State.

Knapke Blocks School-Record 10 Shots in Rockets' 80-65 Win

12/4/2019 10:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Final Stats (PDF)

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Senior Luke Knapke's record-breaking night on Wednesday evening spurred Toledo (6-2) to a convincing 80-65 victory at Cleveland State (4-5) in non-conference men's basketball action at the Wolstein Center.

Knapke registered a triple double against the Vikings as he tallied 12 points, a team-high 12 rebounds and a career-best 10 blocked shots. Knapke's 10 rejections broke the Rockets' school mark held by J.C. Harris, and he now has 162 career blocks to surpass Nathan Boothe's record of 155.

"Luke really controlled the paint for us tonight and altered several more shots," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "This is a great reward for all the hard work he has put in towards becoming one of the best players in the Mid-American Conference."

Junior Spencer Littleson paced the Toledo attack with a game-high 19 points. Three more Rockets – junior Marreon Jackson (17), senior Willie Jackson (13) and redshirt freshman Keshaun Saunders (13) – scored in double digits.

Toledo enjoyed success from the perimeter by knocking down 11-of-24 (45.8 percent) three-point attempts. Littleson and Saunders led the way with 4-of-8 and 3-of-5 performances behind the arc.

The Rockets tallied a school-record 12 rejections, one more than they recorded on two occasions last year vs. Central Michigan. UT's defensive efforts limited the Vikings to a 33.3 field-goal percentage.

Toledo returns to action on Sunday, Dec. 8 when it hosts Marshall in a 2:00 p.m. matinee.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

Toledo was scoreless for the first 3:18 until Luke Knapke and Spencer Littleson hit back-to-back three-pointer for a 6-5 lead.
The Rockets took the lead for good thanks to an 11-0 spurt that led to a 22-12 advantage.
Cleveland State reduced the Rockets' cushion to 32-26 but Knapke's three-point field goal 1:40 before halftime put Toledo back up by a 36-26 margin.

SECOND HALF

Toledo took control of the game with a 10-0 burst to expand its lead to 49-32 with 15:48 remaining.
The Rockets' lead didn't dip below single digits the rest of the contest.
Toledo converted 21-of-25 free throws in the second half after entering the bonus with 13:31 remaining in the game.