KENT, Ohio – The Toledo men's basketball team tried to rally down the stretch on Tuesday but ended up on the short end of a 75-63 decision to first-place Kent State (13-3, 3-0 MAC) in the M.A.C. Center.

Senior Setric Millner Jr. paced the Rockets (10-6, 1-2 MAC) with 16 points. He was joined in double figures by sophomore Ra'Heim Moss (13 pts.) and junior RayJ Dennis (11 pts., team-high 5 asst.).

Dennis and Moss led UT with six rebounds apiece, but Kent State held a 45-35 advantage on the boards with 20 coming on the offensive glass.

"Tonight was a high-level, competitive game with both teams playing exceptionally hard," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "I was happy with how we defended, but we gave up too many offensive rebounds and second-chance points against a very good Kent State team."

Toledo shot 41.4 percent from the field but was only 7-of-27 (25.9 percent) from three-point range. Kent State registered a 38.6 shooting mark and was 9-of-27 (33.3 percent) behind the three-point arc.

Senior Miryne Thomas led the Golden Flashes with 22 points and 13 rebounds.

Toledo will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 14 when it travels to DeKalb, Ill. to face Northern Illinois (5-11, 1-2 MAC). The Huskies posted a 73-54 home victory over Central Michigan tonight.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

• After a back-and-forth opening few minutes, Kent State scored six straight points to take a 21-14 lead with 11:13 to play in the first half.
• The Golden Flashes extended their advantage to 28-18 with 7:48 remaining in the half on a
• Malique Jacobs' turnaround jumper in the paint.
• Dante Maddox Jr.'s four-point play followed by a RayJ Dennis layup brought the Rockets within a point, 30-29, five minutes later.
• Toledo eventually took a 33-32 lead on a pair of Setric Millner Jr free throws, and a JT Shumate basket capped off a 17-4 run to end the half for a 35-32 Rockets' lead.
• Toledo shot 50.0 percent in the first half with RayJ Dennis scoring a team-high nine points.

SECOND HALF

• Kent State regained the momentum back with a 12-2 spurt to open the second stanza.
• Millner Jr. ended the run with a three-point play to cut the Golden Flashes' lead to 44-40 with 15:20 remaining.
• KSU again took a 10-point lead, 51-41, but Maddox Jr.'s layup made it a one-point game, 55-54, at the 7:21 mark.
• Ra'Heim Moss' layup cut Toledo's deficit to 66-62 with 1:54 left, but Kent State ended the contest with a 9-1 run to secure the victory.