OXFORD, Ohio – Sophomore Ryan Rollins poured in a game-high 22 points and Toledo made big defensive plays down the stretch en route to a 75-72 triumph over Miami in Millett Hall on Tuesday evening.
 
"This was a big conference road win," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said after the Rockets posted their 16^th straight victory over the RedHawks. "We made plays down the stretch tonight like we've done all season except for the Kent State game. Our free-throw shooting really helped us win this game, because we were struggling to make shots for the majority of the second half."

Juniors Setric Millner Jr. and JT Shumate each scored 17 points apiece for the Rockets, while junior RayJ Dennis tallied 11 points. Dennis iced the victory for Toledo (12-4, 4-1 MAC) with four free throws in the final 28 seconds. Rollins also blocked a Miami three-point shot with Toledo holding a 71-69 lead with 31 seconds to play.
 
Senior Mekhi Lairy paced Miami (7-7, 1-2 MAC) with 17 points and a game-high seven assists in the RedHawks' first conference home game.
 
The Rockets owned a 36-31 rebounding advantage with redshirt freshman Ra'Heim Moss leading the way with seven boards. Toledo grabbed 12 offensive rebounds, leading to a 13-4 edge in second-chance points and a 38-22 cushion in points in the paint.
 
Toledo was red-hot in the opening 20 minutes with a 58.6 shooting mark, including a 5-of-9 clip from three-point range. The Rockets cooled off in the second half and finished with a 43.5 field-goal percentage, but were lifted by knocking down all 14 of their free-throw attempts to set a school MAC record for most free throws made without a miss.

Miami shot 46.7 percent from the field, 32.3 percent from three-point range (10-of-31) and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line.
 
Toledo returns to the road on Saturday, Jan. 15 when it heads down I-75 to face arch-rival Bowling Green (8-7, 1-3 MAC). Tip-off time from the Stroh Center is set 5:00 p.m. with streaming on ESPN3.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF 

• Miami started strong and held a 13-9 lead after hitting a trio of three-pointers prior to the first media timeout.
• Dae Dae Grant's triple put the Rockets down 18-11 at the 14:14 mark, but Toledo responded with a 7-0 spurt to tie the score less than two minutes later on Setric Millner Jr.'s hook shot in the paint.
• The Rockets took control with a 9-1 spurt that Keshaun Saunders capped off with a steal and score for a 33-24 cushion with 5:45 left in the half.
• Millner's three-point play capped off the first-half scoring and gave the Rockets a 44-33 lead at intermission.

SECOND HALF 

• The RedHawks immediately cut into the Rockets' lead in the second half. Miami closed to within 47-46 at the first media timeout by hitting six of seven shots.
• Millner's three-point play helped Toledo increase its lead back to 52-48, but the RedHawks' Precious Ayah's layup put the Rockets down 53-52 with 14:00 left.
• The RedHawks took their last lead, 58-56, with 11:15 to play as Toledo proceeded to hold Miami scoreless for the next six minutes to take a 63-58 advantage.
• JT Shumate's layup pushed the Rockets' lead to 71-66 with 2:17 remaining, but Grant buried a three-pointer to make it a two-point game with 2:04 left.
• Rollins came up big on the defensive end on Miami's next two possessions, grabbing a rebound following a RedHawk miss and then blocking a three-point shot with 31 seconds left.
• After RayJ Dennis' two free throws put Toledo ahead 73-69 with 28 seconds left, Ra'Heim Moss stole the ball leading to two more Dennis free throws with 3.3 seconds to play.