Toledo Falls Short at No. 22 Michigan State, 81-68

Saturday, December 4

East Lansing, Mich.

5:00 p.m.

University of Toledo

6-2,0-0MAC

Michigan State

7-2,0-0Big Ten

Toledo

Michigan St.

Photo by: Ross Achter

Toledo Falls Short at No. 22 Michigan State, 81-68

12/4/2021 8:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Final Stats (PDF)Photo Gallery

EAST LANSING, Mich. – A cold spell midway through the first half was too much to overcome in Toledo's 81-68 setback at No. 22 Michigan State (7-2) on Saturday evening in the Breslin Center.

"We had a great start but then we went through a 10-minute stretch where we struggled offensively," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "I think we competed, defended and rebounded with them all night. We just turned it over and took some bad shots during that key part of the first half. That was the difference."

Sophomore Ryan Rollins paced the Rockets (6-2) with a game-high 21 points. He was joined in double figures by juniors Setric Millner Jr. (17 pts.) and RayJ Dennis (13 pts.).

Dennis also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to register his first career double-double as Toledo was out-rebounded a taller Spartan squad by just a 43-40 margin. Toledo also held a slight 15-13 advantage in second-chance points.

Toledo shot 35.4 percent from the field and limited Michigan State to a 40.0 shooting mark. The Rockets also knocked down 18-of-20 free-throw attempts, compared to the Spartans' 17-of-21 totals.

Toledo is back in action on Tuesday, Dec. 7 when its hosts Bradley in Savage Arena. Tipoff time in Savage Arena is set for 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

Toledo took an early 7-4 lead on Setric Millner Jr.'s three-pointer just under six minutes into the contest.
Kooper Jacobi's three-point play a minute later put the Rockets up by a 10-7 margin.
The Spartans then took control with 25-3 spurt to take a 40-15 lead 2:31 before halftime.
Millner's three-point play and a Ryan Rollins triple brought Toledo within 43-23 at intermission.

SECOND HALF

RayJ Dennis hit a jumper in the lane and sank two free throws to bring Toledo within 47-33 less than four minutes into the second half.
Millner's baseline jumper reduced the Spartans' lead to single digits, 64-55, with 6:19 remaining.
MSU answered with six straight points to end the Rockets' comeback bid. The closest Toledo came down the stretch was within 11 points in the final two minutes.