DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Toledo men's basketball team rallied from a 10-point deficit early in the second half and made big plays down the stretch en route to an 82-80 victory over Jacksonville State (4-2) on Friday evening in the semifinals of the Boardwalk Battle. The Rockets (5-1) will face UC San Diego (4-2) in tomorrow's championship game at 5:30 p.m.

"Our energy in the second half was the difference in the game," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said after his squad extended its winning streak to five games. "I'm really proud of our guys and their effort. We beat a really good, physical team that tried to slow us down. This was a big win that will help us learn a lot about ourselves."

Sophomore Sam Lewis paced a balanced Rocket attack with 16 points, including three three-pointers in the second half to spur UT's rally. Also scoring in double figures were senior Isaiah Adams (14 pts.), senior Andre Lorentsson (12 pts.), sophomore Sonny Wilson (12 pts.) and junior Seth Hubbard (11 pts.).

Wilson also grabbed a team-high five rebounds, while Adams dished out a season-high six assists.

Toledo shot 46.2% from the field and continued to protect the basketball by committing a season-low four turnovers. The Rockets also connected on a season-high 14-of-25 three-point field goals for a sizzling 56.0 mark from downtown.

The Rockets trailed by a 41-34 margin at halftime but quickly tied the score at 48-48 on Jaylan Ouwinga's layup with 14:14 to play. Toledo eventually pushed its lead to 64-56 five minutes later on a Lewis layup.

The Gamecocks rallied and hit two free throws with 1:43 remaining to trim Toledo's lead to 74-73. Lorentsson buried a three on the Rockets' ensuing possession, and Wilson followed a JSU turnover with a floater in the paint for a five-point lead with 38 seconds left.

Jacksonville State had a chance to win the game after Toledo missed the front end of a one-and-one but a 30-footer at the buzzer rimmed out.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

• The teams were tied at 10-10 after the first six minutes with each of the Rockets' starters scoring a basket.
• Back-to-back triples from Seth Hubbard put Toledo up 21-18 just past the midpoint of the first half.
• JSU went on a 9-0 run to take a 29-23 lead with 6:18 left in the half.
• Toledo fell behind by as many as 10 points before Isaiah Adams buried a three with 11 seconds left to cut the Gamecocks' advantage to 41-34 at the half.
• Adams and Sam Lewis led the Rocket in the opening 20 minutes with seven points apiece.

SECOND HALF

• Back-to-back baskets from Jaylan Ouwinga tied the score at 48-48 with 14:14 remaining.
• Andre Lorentsson then connected on a pair of triples to increase UT's lead to 58-50 less than three minutes later.
• Toledo maintained a comfortable advantage until JSU closed to within 69-66 with six minutes left, but Lewis answered with a three for a six-point lead.
• The Gamecocks made another push and closed to within a point, 74-73, with 1:43 remaining but Lorentsson knocked down another trey for some breathing room.
• JSU had one last chance to win the game but a deep three-pointer rimmed out at the buzzer.