BUFFALO, N.Y. – Toledo maintained its perch atop the Mid-American Conference on Friday evening by pulling away down the stretch for an 80-70 triumph over Buffalo (9-7, 7-5) in Alumni Arena. The victory before a national TV audience improved the Rockets' record to 18-6 overall and 13-3 in league play.

"I'm very proud of the composure we showed tonight to pull out a gritty road win," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "Buffalo is a very talented team and we did a great job of responding to every run they made at us."

Senior Marreon Jackson put together another strong all-around performance for Toledo, finishing with a team-high 20 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals in 35 minutes. Also scoring in double digits for the Rockets were freshman Ryan Rollins (18 pts.), junior Setric Millner Jr. (17 pts., team-high seven reb.) and senior Spencer Littleson (13 pts.).

"Marreon played very well for us down the stretch," Kowalczyk said. "He made some key plays down the stretch that you expect from senior guards."

Junior Jeenathan Williams posted a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Bulls.

Toledo shot 46.7 percent from the field and 10-of-22 (45.5 percent) from three-point range and limited Buffalo to a 38.6 shooting mark and a miniscule 2-of-14 clip behind the three-point arc. 

The Rockets also forced the Bulls to commit 16 miscues leading to a 27-7 advantage in points off turnovers. Toledo's defensive performance helped it overcome a 53-30 deficit on the boards.

The Rockets have just three conference games remaining this season and will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 27 with a home matchup vs. Western Michigan. Tip-off time in Savage Arena is set for 5:00 p.m.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

• Buffalo took an 11-6 lead just over five minutes into the game following pair of putbacks from Josh Mballa.
• The Bulls extended their advantage to 21-12 before Spencer Littleson's steal and slam capped off a 10-2 run to trim the Rockets' deficit to 23-22 at the 6:44 mark.
• Two triples from Ryan Rollins and another from Marreon Jackson put Toledo ahead, 33-30, 2:17 before halftime and forced the Bulls to take the game's first timeout.
• The Rockets kept the pressure on with a Jackson trey giving Toledo a 40-32 halftime cushion.

SECOND HALF

• JT Shumate's three-point play extended Toledo lead to 43-32, but the Bulls responded with eight points in a row to close within three.
• Littleson then responded with a three-pointer and Setric Millner Jr. registered a thunderous dunk to give Toledo some breathing room with a 48-40 advantage at the 15:56 mark.
• Buffalo then held the Rockets scoreless for the next 5:15 as part of a 14-0 spurt to take a 54-48 lead with 10:41 remaining.
• Ryan Rollins' layup ended the drought and Toledo eventually evened the score at 56-56 on a pair of free throws from Mattia Acunzo with 6:52 left.
• Jackson gave the Rockets the lead for good when he scored seven straight points for a 66-61 advantage with just over four minutes to play.
• Littleson's three-pointer extended Toledo's lead to 69-61 two minutes later
• The Rockets closed out the victory hitting 9-of-11 free throws in the final 1:25.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Toledo snapped a five-game losing streak and posted its first victory over Buffalo since 2017.
• The Rockets have made 10 or more three-point field goals in 17 of 24 games.
• Toledo has tied the school record held by the 2017-18 squad for most three-point field goals (179) in a conference season.
• Toledo won for the third time in nine games this season when trailing with five minutes remaining.
• Toledo is 14-0 this season when shooting 45.0 percent or better from the field and 16-3 when holding its opponent under 45.0 percent.
• Marreon Jackson moved past Steve Mix into eighth place on Toledo's all-time scoring list with 1,690 points.
• Jackson is averaging 10.0 rpg in his last six games and has registered a season-high four steals in four games this season.
• Setric Millner Jr. tied his season high of 17 points for the sixth time this season.
• Spencer Littleson is one three-point field goal away from tying Marreon Jackson for most triples (63) in a conference season.