Rockets Explode Down Stretch for 89-70 Win Over Ball State

Friday, March 5

Toledo, Ohio

7:00 p.m.

University of Toledo

20-7,15-4MAC

Ball State

10-12,8-9MAC

Ball St.

Toledo

Toledo celebrated Senior Night with an 89-70 win over Ball State.

Photo by: Toledo Athletics

Rockets Explode Down Stretch for 89-70 Win Over Ball State

3/5/2021 10:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo capped off its regular season in style on Friday evening with an 89-70 Senior Night triumph over Ball State (10-12, 8-9 MAC) on national television. Senior Marreon Jackson led the way for the Mid-American Conference champion Rockets (20-7, 15-4 MAC) with 22 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for the second triple-double of his career.

"It was obviously a special night," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "I thought we played really well from start to finish. I told our guys at halftime we were playing great, but our shots just weren't falling. I'm proud of our seniors and the way they led us to a regular-season MAC championship. They've left a legacy of being great teammates both on and off the court."

Junior Setric Millner Jr. also contributed a season-high 19 points and seven boards for Toledo, while freshman Ryan Rollins tallied 15 points. Senior Spencer Littleson also scored in double digits, finishing with 11 points.

Senior Ishmael El-Amin topped Ball State with 22 points, while sophomore Jarron Coleman registered a double-double with 14 points and a team-high 11 boards.

Toledo finished with a 50.0 field-goal percentage and posted a red-hot 59.4 shooting mark while knocking down 8-of-12 three-point attempts in the second half. The Rockets limited Ball State to a 40.0 FG%, including a 34.2 clip in the final 20 minutes.

The Rockets trailed 52-51 with 11:25 remaining when Jackson hit back-to-back three-pointers to put Toledo ahead for good. The Cardinals then crept within 63-60 with just under eight minutes remaining when Toledo exploded for a 21-2 run to put the game away.

The Rockets now will head to Cleveland, Ohio as the No. 1 seed in next week's MAC Tournament. Toledo will meet Ball State again on Thursday, March 11 in the quarterfinals. Tip-off time is set for 11:00 a.m. on ESPN+.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

Ball State jumped out to an early 9-4 lead and Toledo didn't lead until Setric Millner Jr.'s three-point play put the Rockets in front 18-17 at the 9:26 mark.
The Cardinals took another five-point advantage, 29-24, on Brachen Hazen's layup just under five minutes later.
Millner Jr. and JT Shumate followed by registering back-to-back three-point plays to put Toledo ahead, 30-29, 2:38 before halftime.
Spencer Littleson's first three-pointer of the game and just the Rockets' second triple gave Toledo a 38-34 cushion at the break.

SECOND HALF

Littleson hit a three-pointer to increase the Rockets' lead to 43-36 with 16:30 to play.
Toledo led until a 5-0 spurt put the visitors ahead 52-51 five minutes later.
Marreon Jackson followed with a pair of triples, and Millner added another three-point play for a 60-54 advantage with 9:33 left.
After Jarron Coleman's two free throws cut the Cardinals' deficit to 63-60 with eight minutes remaining, Toledo scored 14 straight points to put the game out of reach.
Ryan Rollins' layup began the game-deciding burst, and Littleson followed with a triple and a dunk. Jackson then added another three-pointer as well as a jumper before Rollins ended it with another layup.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

The Rockets' 15 MAC victories are the most in program history.
Toledo registered its fifth 20-win season under Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk.
Marreon Jackson has two of the five triple-doubles in program history and the only ones taking place in Savage Arena.
Jackson moved into third place on the Rockets' all-time assist ahead of Keith Wade (1987-91) and now has 562 assists in his Toledo career,
Jackson tied his season high with five triples to move into fifth place on the MAC's career three-point field goal list with 299.
Spencer Littleson moved ahead of Nate Navigato into second place on Toledo's season three-point field goal list with 96 triples.