TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo men's basketball team dropped an 85-52 decision to Oakland on Saturday night in Savage Arena.

"When you play against a good zone defense the No. 1 key is to control frustration and we didn't do that tonight," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "We can't let how we're performing on the offensive end dictate our energy level and togetherness. That isn't Rocket basketball and we need to do some deep soul searching to get our guys to play with a higher energy level and toughness."
 
Toledo (5-3) posted a 38.2 shooting mark during the contest and was 3-of-16 (18.8%) from three-point range.
 
Sophomore Sonny Wilson led the Rockets with 13 points and was joined in double figures by sophomores Sam Lewis and Javan Simmons with 10 points apiece. Simmons topped Toledo with eight rebounds, while fifth-year senior Isaiah Adams and junior Seth Hubbard each dished out a team-high four assists.
 
The Golden Grizzlies (2-4) never trailed, shooting 54.8% from the field and knocking down 11 three-pointers. DQ Cole scored a game-high 22 points to lead Oakland, with Buru Naivalurua contributing a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

• Buru Naivalurua scored five points as Oakland opened up an early 10-4 lead.
• A three-pointer by Sam Lewis and a three-point play by Javan Simmons tied the score at 10-10 with 12:55 left in the half.
• Oakland's DQ Cole scored eight points in a 10-4 run as the Grizzlies pulled ahead 27-19 with 3:43 to play in the half.
• A Lewis layup trimmed Oakland's lead to 27-23, but the Grizzlies answered with a bucket by Naivalurua and a triple by Cole to make it 34-23 at the break.
• Toledo made 10-of-31 (32.3%) from the field and hit just 1-of-8 from long range in the first half. Lewis led the Rockets with nine points.
• Oakland shot 50 percent (14-of-28) and connected on 5-of-11 from three-point range. Cole made four triples and led all scorers with 16 points.

SECOND HALF

• Oakland opened the second half with an 11-4 run capped by a pair of putbacks by Naivalurua that upped its lead to 44-27 and forced a Toledo timeout.
• Toledo cut the lead to 50-35 on a jumper by Jaylen Ouwinga, but the Grizzlies answered with a pair of three-pointers to push the lead to 56-37 with 11:17 left.
• Another three-pointer by Cole made the score 65-42 with 8:42 remaining.
• The lead grew to 31 points, 73-42, when Jaylen Jones finished off a 17-0 Oakland run with a driving layup.
• Oakland led by as many as 36 points before settling on the 85-52 final.

UP NEXT
 
Toledo returns to action next week with a matchup on Saturday, Dec. 7 vs. Defiance College. Tip-off from Savage Arena is set for 2:00 p.m. on ESPN+.