AKRON, Ohio – The Toledo men's basketball team moved into a first-place tie in the Mid-American Conference on Tuesday night after handing Akron its first home loss this season with an 84-74 victory in Rhodes Arena. The Rockets (18-6, 9-2 MAC) are now tied for the top spot in the league with the Zips (17-7, 9-2 MAC) and Kent State (19-5, 9-2 MAC).

"This was a good win against a very good basketball team," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said after the Rockets' extended their winning streak to eight games. "We played with a lot of energy right from the start. I'm proud of our guys with the fight they showed after Akron cut it to three a couple times in the second half."

Senior Setric Millner Jr. led UT with 20 points and nine rebounds and was joined in double digits by sophomore Dante Maddox Jr. (19 pts.), junior RayJ Dennis (18 pts.) and senior JT Shumate (14 pts.).

"Dante hit some big shots tonight, especially late in the shot clock," Kowalczyk said. "The timing of his shots broke their spirit a little bit. I think it affected their confidence a little bit on the defensive end."

Senior Xavier Castaneda led Akron with 23 points, with senior Trendon Hankerson scoring 20 and hitting six three-pointers.

The Rockets shot 52.0% from the field, 50.0% (9-of-18) from three-point range and 82.1% (23-of-28) from the free-throw line. Toledo limited the Zips to a 40.9 shooting mark and to 34.4% (11-of-32) behind the three-point arc.

UT also held a slim 33-32 rebounding advantage and is now undefeated in the 12 games it has held an advantage on the boards.

Toledo is back in action on Saturday, Feb. 11 when it travels to Ypsilanti, Mich. to face Eastern Michigan (6-18, 3-8 MAC). Tip-off time from the Convocation Center is set for 7:30 p.m.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Toledo has won 11 of its last 14 meetings vs. Akron and is 5-2 in its last seven games in Rhodes Arena.
• The Rockets are 41-9 in league play and 18-6 in conference road games since the start of the 2020-21 season.
• UT has had an eight-game winning streak in each of the last three seasons.
• The Rockets shot over 80% from the free-throw line for a second straight game.
• Toledo committed just eight turnovers, marking the fifth-straight contest it has had eight or fewer miscues.
• Dante Maddox Jr. finished one point shy of his season-high point total of 20 vs. Oakland. He was 5-of-6 from the field, 3-of-3 from three-point range and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
• RayJ Dennis has scored in double digits in 38 games.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

• Toledo jumped out to an early 11-3 lead and limited the Zips to just 1-of-14 shooting in the first six minutes.
• Akron rallied to within a point, 19-18, on Garvin Clarke's three-pointer with 9:16 remaining in the half.
• Dante Maddox Jr. buried a trey to increase UT's advantage to 25-20 at the 3:58 mark.
• The Rockets took a 37-26 lead with an 8-0 burst capped off by a JT Shumate layup one minute before halftime.
• Toledo took a 37-28 lead to the locker room after shooting 53.8% in the opening 20 minutes.
• Setric Millner Jr. led UT with 14 points and five rebounds.

SECOND HALF

• Akron reduced the Rockets' lead when a Trendon Hankerson triple brought the Zips within 41-38 just over two minutes after the break.
• Maddox Jr. immediately answered with a trey, and RayJ Dennis' three-pointer put the Rockets up 51-42 with 14:03 to play.
• The Zips rallied to within 55-52 at the 11:35 mark, but Toledo responded again when Ra'Heim Moss' three-pointer capped off a 7-1 run that gave the Rockets a 62-53 cushion.
• Hankerson hit another triple to cut the Rockets' lead to four, but UT answered with an 8-0 explosion for a 72-60 advantage with five minutes left.
• The Zips made one last push and climbed within 74-71 with 2:24 to play, but Maddox Jr. again came through with a triple for a 77-71 lead at the two-minute mark.
• Toledo's lead didn't drop below six points the rest of the game.
• Maddox Jr. topped Toledo in the second half with 16 points with Dennis adding 10 points.