ESTERO, Fla – Toledo rallied from an early 11-point deficit only to see Kansas City pull away down the stretch in an 83-71 setback to the Roos on Monday morning in the opening round of the Gulf Coast Showcase in Hertz Arena.

Junior RayJ Dennis led four Rockets in double digits with 17 points. He was joined in double digits by senior JT Shumate (14 pts.), sophomore Dante Maddox Jr. (12 pts.) and junior Tyler Cochran (11 pts.).

RayQuawndis Mitchell led Kansas City (2-4) with a career-high 35 points, shooting 7-of-9 from the field and 18-of-20 from the free-throw line.

Toledo (3-1) shot a season-low 39.4 percent from the field and 8-of-29 (27.6 percent) from three-point range. The Roos posted a 54.0 shooting mark and were 6-of-14 (42.9 percent) behind the arc and 23-of-28 (82.1 percent) and the line. Toledo fell behind by 11 points at the start of the game, rallied for a five-point edge at halftime, but were outscored 18-6 in the final four minutes of the game.

"We were never able to get into a flow today offensively," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "I also thought our defense, particularly at the end of the shot clock, broke down today. When you play good defense for 25 seconds and then have a breakdown it is demoralizing."

Kansas City also held a 35-26 advantage on the boards. Cochran paced Toledo with six rebounds, with Dennis and senior Setric Millner Jr. grabbing five boards apiece.

The Rockets will continue play in the Gulf Coast Showcase tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. against East Carolina (3-1).

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

• Toledo fell behind 13-2 early before RayJ Dennis tallied five points during a seven-point run to make it a four-point game.
• Andre Lorentsson's three-pointer brought the Rockets within 31-30 with 3:10 left in the half.
• Dennis then buried another triple to even the contest at 33-33 at the 1:27 mark.
• Millner tallied Toledo's final five points of the half to give the Rockets a 38-33 halftime advantage.
• Dennis topped the Rockets in the first half with 11 points.

SECOND HALF

• Kansas City grabbed the momentum back at the start of the second half with a 9-2 spurt in the first two minutes.
• Toledo took back the lead, 49-48, on Dante Maddox Jr.'s three-point play with 12:21 remaining.
• Tyler Cochran's layup extended the Rockets' lead to 52-48 just under a minute later.
• Toledo still led 58-54 with 8:47 to play following RayJ Dennis' layup but a 7-0 run by the Roos put the Rockets down, 61-58, with 7:12 to play.
• UT fought back to tie the score at 65-65 on a pair of JT Shumate free throws with 4:40 remaining but the Rockets went scoreless for the next three minutes to fall behind by 15.
• Kansas City shot 58.3 percent and was 19-of-22 from the free-throw line in the second half.