TOLEDO, Ohio – A season-high six Rockets scored in double digits to lead the Toledo men's basketball team to a 103-88 victory over cross-town foe Lourdes Univ. on Thursday evening in Savage Arena. The meeting was the first ever between the two programs and served as UT's final non-conference contest this season.
 
"I was disappointed with our play tonight, especially our defense," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "I thought Ra'Heim was really good defensively all night, and RayJ was in the second half. We have to talk a lot more, because we were really quiet tonight. If we're going to compete for a championship, we can't defend like we did."
 
Senior Setric Millner Jr. paced Toledo (9-4) with a season-high 25 points. Junior RayJ Dennis also topped the 20-point plateau and was followed by sophomore Ra'Heim Moss (season-high 18 pts.), senior JT Shumate (13 pts.), sophomore Dante Maddox Jr. (13 pts.) and sophomore EJ Farmer (10 pts.).
 
Seniors Joey Holifield and Jackie Harris scored 23 and 20 points, respectively, to lead the Gray Wolves (10-5).
 
"I want to give Jackie Harris credit for hitting some tough, deep shots. That's what he does," Kowalczyk said. "Joey Holifield got to his right hand too much and attacked us quite a bit because of that."
 
Shumate topped the Rockets on the boards by tying his season high with eight rebounds. He was followed by Moss and junior AJ Edu with six boards apiece. Dennis also dished out a team-high six assists.
 
Toledo shot 54.7 percent from the field, 34.5 percent (10-of-29) from three-point range and 76.7 percent (23-of-30) from the charity stripe. The Gray Wolves posted a 50.0 shooting mark and were red-hot from three-point range (54.2 percent, 13-of-24) and the free-throw line (11-of-11).
 
"I'm happy with our 9-4 record against really good competition combined with tough travel, but I would like to think we're better than that," said Kowalczyk about his team which opens Mid-American Conference play on Tuesday night vs. Ball State in Savage Arena. "We need to get better."
 
The contest pitting the two-time defending MAC Champion Rockets and red-hot Cardinal squad (9-4) will tip off at 7:00 p.m. Ball State carries a five-game winning streak into the matchup that will be televised live on the CBS Sports Network.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
FIRST HALF

• Toledo took an early 11-5 lead less than four minutes in thanks to six points from Setric Millner Jr and five from JT Shumate.
• Jackie Harris hit a pair of triples to spark a 10-0 run to give Lourdes its largest lead, 15-11, at the 14:37 mark.
• Shumate buried a three-pointer to cap off a 9-0 spurt to put Toledo back in front 20-15 with 10:46 left in the first half.
• The Rockets pulled away at the end of the half with an 8-0 run to take a 48-35 halftime advantage.
• Millner topped Toledo in the first half with 13 points.

 
SECOND HALF

• Millner's three-point play just over two minutes into the second half pushed Toledo's lead to 57-41.
• The closest Lourdes the remainder of the way was within 11 points on three occasions, the last time occurring with the Rockets holding a 76-65 margin with 10:02 to play.
• RayJ Dennis paced the Rockets in the second half with 14 points, with Millner adding 12 points.