VALPARAISO, Ind. – Junior JT Shumate led Toledo with 20 points and nine rebounds and buried a key three-pointer with 1:06 remaining to propel the Rockets to a 69-61 season-opening victory at Valparaiso.

Shumate's big shot gave Toledo a 67-61 lead and was set up by sophomore Ryan Rollins, who drove to the basket before finding a wide-open Shumate in the corner.

"When you win on the road against a Missouri Valley Conference team in the first game of the year, it's a heckuva win," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "JT hit a huge shot but what really made the play was RayJ Dennis setting a nice flare screen. We wanted to give Ryan some space to work and we had JT in one corner and Elijah (Wilson) in the other. Those our two best shooters and Valpo had to decide whether to help off those two or let Ryan beat you."

Rollins finished with 15 points and was joined in double figures by junior Setric Millner Jr. (10 pts.).

Senior Thomas Kithier scored 16 points and grabbed five rebounds to lead four Beacons in double figures.

Toledo controlled the boards by a 38-28 margin and outscored Valpo in both second-chance (13-7) and fast-break points (18-9).

Both teams registered similar shooting percentages with Toledo holding a slight edge (43.6-43.3). The Rockets shot 40.0 percent (6-of-15) from three-point range and 83.3 percent (15-of-18) from the charity stripe, giving them a decisive advantage to the Beacons' totals of 21.7 3PTFG% (5-of-23) and 57.1 FT% (4-of-7).

Toledo is back in action on Saturday, Nov. 13 when it hosts Detroit Mercy in Savage Arena at 7:00 p.m.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

• JT Shumate started fast and scored the game's first seven points as well as the Rockets' first 10 to give Toledo an early 10-2 cushion.
• Valpo recovered from the early onslaught with an 11-2 spurt to take a brief 13-12 lead.
• Shumate scored five straight and Setric Millner Jr. added jumper in the lane for a 19-13 Toledo advantage with 11:26 remaining in the first half.
• The Rockets took their largest lead of the game, 29-19, on EJ Farmer's layup at the 6:06 mark.
• The Beacons battled back with 10-0 run to knot the score but a Millner layup with 33 seconds remaining in the half gave Toledo a 35-33 halftime lead.

SECOND HALF

• Valpo tied the score on four occasions in the first six minutes after intermission before two free throws from Kooper Jacobi and Ryan Rollins put the Rockets ahead 48-44 with 12:45 remaining.
• Elijah Wilson's three-pointer two minutes later increased Toledo's margin to 53-46, but the Beacons responded with a 7-1 spurt to reduce their deficit to 54-53 at the eight-minute mark.
• Rollins answered with a pair of baskets, but Trevor Anderson's three-point play gave the hosts a 61-60 edge with 3:32 to play.
• Millner's two free throws a minute later put Toledo back in front, and a Rollins' layup increased Toledo's lead to three with 2:03 remaining.
• Shumate's triple with 1:06 left provided some breathing room before Rollins and RayJ Dennis each hit a free throw for the final margin of victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Toledo leads its series vs. Valpo by an 8-6 margin after defeating the Beacons the last two seasons.
• Toledo held a lead for 34:25 with Valparaiso leading for just 1:56. The score was tied on 10 occasions with four lead changes.
• Nine of 10 Rockets who played scored in tonight's contest.
• RayJ Dennis led Toledo with four assists and committed just two turnovers in 33 minutes.
• Dennis and Ra'Heim Moss both grabbed six rebounds, while JT Shumate led the Rockets with two blocked shots and two steals.