TOLEDO, Ohio – Senior Marreon Jackson exploded for a season-high 31 points Saturday afternoon to propel Toledo to a 76-74 victory over Kent State (7-4, 4-3 MAC) in Savage Arena. The victory was the Rockets' second two-point win over the Golden Flashes this season and improved their record to 13-4 overall and 8-1 in Mid-American Conference action.

"It was certainly an emotional win against a very good team," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "Marreon made some game-winning plays and that's what our seniors have been doing all season. We also displayed some good team toughness against a team that could be one of the best rebounding teams in the country."

Jackson put Toledo ahead to stay when he buried a three-point field goal for a 72-69 advantage with 2:25 remaining. He later followed his own missed shot late on Toledo's final possession with a steal and layup with nine seconds left to put the Rockets ahead, 76-73.  Kent State made one free throw and then had a chance to tie the score on an in-bounds play at the buzzer but senior Michael Nuga's short jumper was off the mark.

  "After I missed my shot I knew I had to make a play," Jackson said. "When I was getting back on defense I saw (KSU's Malique) Jacobs turn his head for a slight second and I was either going to foul him or get the steal."

Marreon Jackson coming in clutch with the steal and layup!! The Rockets lead 76-74 with 00.7 left in the game. Catch the final moments @ https://t.co/w4HuC4DOXX pic.twitter.com/8Pb8vv0UWn

— Toledo Men's Basketball (@ToledoMBB) January 23, 2021

Freshman Ryan Rollins and junior JT Shumate joined Jackson in double figures, finishing with 16 and 14 points, respectively.

Nuga led Kent State offensively with 19 points, while senior Danny Pippen tallied a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

The Rockets shot 49.2 percent from the field and hit 8-of-26 shots (30.8 percent) behind the three-point arc. Kent State posted a 41.0 shooting mark and was 7-of-23 (30.4 percent) from three-point range.

The Golden Flashes held a significant advantage in getting to the free-throw line, knocking down 17-of-23 attempts compared to Toledo's 10-of-11 conversion rate.

Toledo will play its next two games on the road at Miami (Jan. 26) and Bowling Green (Jan. 30) before returning home to host Akron on Feb. 2.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

• Toledo started strong by taking an early 14-3 lead in the first five minutes with all five Rocket starters getting into the scoring column.
• Kent State climbed back into the contest with an 11-0 spurt for a 17-16 advantage following Tervell Beck's three-point play at the 10:17 mark.
• The lead changed hands nine additional times the remainder of the half before the Rockets put together a 10-3 spurt for a 41-33 cushion at intermission.
• JT Shumate ignited the run with a jumper in the paint and three-pointer with Marreon Jackson capping it off with a three-point field goal.

SECOND HALF

• Jackson opened the second half with another triple for a 44-33 lead, matching Toledo's largest margin of the contest.
• Kent State chipped away and eventually tied the score 50-50 on Danny Pippen's turnaround jumper with 12:51 remaining.
• The Golden Flashes eventually pulled ahead, 60-57, five minutes later following a Beck layup and Malique Jacobs' three-point play.
• Toledo quickly regained a 63-62 lead following Spencer Littleson's slam with 5:20 left.
• Jackson put the Rockets ahead to stay, 72-69, with a three-pointer at the 2:25 mark.
• Ryan Rollins' two free throws increased Toledo's lead to 74-69 but the Golden Flashes rallied to within 74-73 with 41.1 seconds left.
• Jackson scored the Rockets' final points with a steal and layup with 9.0 seconds remaining.
• KSU's Dannie Pippen made one free throw with 2.4 seconds left to cut the lead to two. He intentionally missed his second attempt. The ensuing rebound went out of bounds off Toledo with 1.8 ticks remaining. The Golden Flashes had a chance to tie the score on an in-bounds play but Nuga's shot rimmed out.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Toledo's 8-1 record in league play is its best since the 1979-80's squad's 8-1 start.
• Marreon Jackson's 31 points were the most scored by a Rocket this season and six shy of his career-high 37 points. He also tied his season high with five three-point field goals and four steals.
• Jackson moved into 10^th place on Toledo's all-time scoring list with 1,571 points. He also has 274 three-point field goals, two behind Nick Moore (1999-2003) for second place on the Rockets' career three-point list.
• JT Shumate hit his first two treys of the season, including one with 3:15 remaining to give the Rockets a 69-66 lead.
• Ryan Rollins has scored in double digits in 16 of 17 games.

Highlights from Toledo's win over Kent State.


Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk Post-game.


Senior Marreon Jackson Post-game.