TOLEDO, Ohio – Senior Marreon Jackson tallied a game-high 27 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists but it wasn't enough in Toledo's 88-81 setback to arch-rival Bowling Green (11-9, 7-7 MAC) on Saturday afternoon in Savage Arena. The defeat dropped the Rockets' record to 16-6 overall and 11-3 in Mid-American Conference play.

"It's obviously a tough loss today," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "I think a big part of it was Bowling Green played really, really well. It was the best I've seen them play this season. We had a good start to the second half, but then we had a stretch where we had some shots that didn't fall and they went on a run. They made some really tough shots."

Joining Jackson in double figures was junior Setric Millner Jr. (15 pts.) junior JT Shumate (14 pts.) and senior Spencer Littleson (11 pts.).

Seniors Daeqwon Plowden and Justin Turner paced Bowling Green with 22 and 21 points, respectively.

Toledo shot 42.9 percent from the field and was 11-of-38 (28.9 percent) behind the three-point arc. Bowling Green posted a 49.2 shooting mark, including a 41.7 percent clip (10-of-24) from three-point range.

Jackson's career-best performance on the boards helped Toledo to a 40-38 advantage on the glass, but the Falcons held a 22-5 edge in points off turnovers.

The Rockets return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 16 with a home matchup vs. Miami. Toledo posted a 90-81 victory over the RedHawks in Oxford in the two teams' first meeting of the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

• Toledo jumped out to an early 6-2 lead on three-pointers from Marreon Jackson and JT Shumate.
• The Falcons took their first lead, 13-10, just over seven minutes into the contest on Trey Diggs' three-point field goal.
• The lead then changed hands four times before a putback from Diggs and Daeqwon Plowden's three-pointer put Bowling Green ahead, 24-18, at the 9:25 mark.
• The Falcons maintained their advantage until Mattia Acunzo's three-point field goal capped off an 8-0 spurt that put Toledo in front, 34-33.
• Justin Turner put Bowling Green back in front a minute later with a jumper in the paint. He then ended the half with a three-pointer to give the Falcons a 41-37 lead at intermission.

SECOND HALF

• Ryan Rollins' three-point play cut the Rockets' deficit to one to open the half, but the Falcons answered with eight straight points to take a nine-point lead.
• Toledo immediately responded with its own spurt and went ahead 51-50 on Setric Millner Jr.'s slam at the 14:46 mark.
• Bowling Green took the lead for good with a 6-0 burst capped off by Plowden's slam with 12 minutes remaining.
• The Falcons took their largest lead by scoring 11 unanswered points for a 71-55 cushion with 6:24 to play.
• The Rockets rallied late and had a chance to cut the Falcons' lead to two points in the closing seconds but a pair of three-point attempts were off the mark.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Toledo suffered its first home setback this season, a loss that ended a 13-game winning streak in Savage Arena.
• Marreon Jackson moved into fourth place on the Rockets' all-time assists list. He now has 521 in his career, two more than Jay Lehman (1977-81).

 


Highlights from Toledo's game vs Bowling Green. 


Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk's Post-game. 


Senior Marreon Jackson's Post-game.