ATHENS, Ohio – Sophomore Ryan Rollins tallied a team-high 26 points, six rebounds and five assists on Friday night to propel Toledo into first place in the Mid-American Conference thanks to a decisive 87-69 victory at Ohio. The Rockets (15-4, 7-1 MAC) have now won six straight games and are a game ahead of the Bobcats (14-3, 5-1 MAC) in the league standings.

"This was a good win against a very good team we're going to see again in Cleveland," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said after the Rockets won their fifth straight game in Athens. "It was inevitable they would make a run, but we didn't panic when their unbelievable crowd got really loud. Once we got our lead back to 10 points, I think our guys settled in a little bit and finished it off."

Joining Rollins in double digits were juniors RayJ Dennis (18 pts.), Setric Millner Jr. (17 pts.) and JT Shumate (12 pts.). Redshirt freshman Ra'Heim Moss registered nine points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Jason Carter paced Ohio with 19 points.

The Rockets were extremely efficient throughout, shooting 59.0 percent from the field, 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from three-point range and connecting on 100.0 percent (8-of-8) of their free throws. Toledo's shooting mark was its best this season against a Division I opponent, and the Rockets made all of their free throws for the third time in four contests.

The Rockets also owned a 33-28 edge in the rebounding department and committed just 10 turnovers.

Toledo led for all but 19 seconds and held a 45-29 halftime lead. The Bobcats rallied to within six on three occasions in the second half, but the Rockets closed out the victory with a 16-4 run.

Toledo returns to Savage Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 25 when it will host Buffalo (10-6, 4-2 MAC) in the first of two home games next week. The Rockets will also entertain Akron (11-5, 4-2 MAC) in a nationally televised contest on Friday, Jan. 28.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

• Ryan Rollins opened the game by burying two three-pointers and hitting two free throws coming out of the first media timeout to give Toledo a 16-9 lead.
• JT Shumate knocked down a triple and a jumper to extend the Rockets' cushion to 30-17 midway through the first half.
• RayJ Dennis' three-pointer capped off an 11-2 spurt that increased Toledo's lead to 38-22 five minutes before halftime.
• Toledo took a 45-29 lead to the locker room after notching a 58.1 FG% and hitting 6-of-12 shots behind the three-point arc.

SECOND HALF

• Ohio reduced the Rockets' lead to single digits, 52-43, on Mark Sears' three-point play just over four minutes into the second half.
• Shumate's three-point play pushed Toledo's advantage back to 61-48 with 13:35 remaining.
• The Bobcats answered with an 11-4 spurt that made it a six-point game with 11 minutes to play.
• Dennis' back-to-back baskets three minutes later returned the Rockets' lead to double figures, 71-61.
• Ohio closed back to within six with 6:55 left but a Shumate layup, two Rollins free throws and a Dennis layup provided the Rockets an insurmountable 77-65 lead.