TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo pulled away in the second half to win its third straight game in a 71-57 non-conference victory over Valparaiso on Saturday afternoon in Savage Arena. The Rockets are now 6-3 this season, while the Crusaders dropped to 3-5.

"It was a grind-out win for us today," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "It may not have been pretty, but I thought we played hard. We took care of the basketball remarkably well with 16 assists and four turnovers. We defended really well in the first half, but our shots just weren't falling even though we had really good looks. The second half they just started going in which happens sometimes in basketball."

Senior Marreon Jackson paced Toledo with a game-high 18 points and five assists. Also scoring in double figures were junior Setric Millner Jr. (14 pts.) and freshman Ryan Rollins (11 pts.).

Senior Spencer Littleson spearheaded the strong effort on the boards from the Rockets' backcourt with a career-high eight rebounds. Rollins grabbed seven boards, while Jackson collected six.

"Our guard rebounding numbers were phenomenal today and that's really important with losing Willie Jackson and Luke Knapke from a year ago," Kowalczyk said.

Sophomore Donovan Clay led Valparaiso with 17 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

Toledo is back in action on Tuesday, Dec. 22 when it hosts Northern Illinois at 2:00 p.m. in Savage Arena.  

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

• Toledo fell behind 8-3 in the first five minutes before rallying to take an 11-10 lead on a JT Shumate layup at the 11:50 mark.
• Setric Millner Jr.'s three-pointer put Toledo in front 18-16 just under six minutes before the half but the visitors responded with five straight points to gain a 21-18 lead less than two minutes later.
• Neither team led by more than three points the final 13:22 in a half that featured eight lead changes.
• Toledo shot 25.0 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes but stayed in the game by committing just three turnovers, holding a 29-22 rebounding margin and limiting the Crusaders to a 32.3 shooting mark.

SECOND HALF

• Back-to-back three-point field goals from Marreon Jackson and Mattia Acunzo and a pair of Ryan Rollins free throws provided the Rockets their first double-digit lead, 52-41, with 10:29 to play.
• Valparaiso rallied to within 57-52 five minutes later and had a pair of opportunities to draw closer but came up empty.
• Rollins added two more free throws and Spencer Littleson buried a three-pointer for a 67-54 cushion with 2:16 remaining.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Marreon Jackson and Setric Millner Jr. have each scored in double digits in every game this season.
• Toledo limited Valpo to four offensive rebounds, giving its opponents just 15 offensive boards the last three games.
• The Rockets committed a season-low four turnovers.

Highlights from Toledo's win over Valpo.


Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk post-game.


Junior Setric Millner Jr. post-game.