YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Sophomore Sam Lewis scored a career-high 21 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, but Toledo's second-half rally came up short in a 93-87 setback at Youngstown State on Saturday afternoon.

Four more Rockets scored in double digits, including sophomore Sonny Wilson with 17 points, six boards and a team-best four assists. Junior Seth Hubbard was UT's top scorer off the bench with 14 points, while fifth-year senior Isaiah Adams notched 12 points and sophomore Javan Simmons added 10 points.

"Tough loss for us today, but I thought we started to get our grit and edge back," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "Our bench played well today especially in the second half. Their energy helped us get back in the game to take the lead and gave us a fighting chance."

EJ Farmer topped Youngstown State (6-5, 2-0 Horizon) with 20 points, while Nico Galette contributed a double-double (17 pts., 11 reb.).

Toledo (6-4) shot 46.7% from the field and 4-of-12 (33.3%) from three-point range. The Penguins posted a 49.2 shooting mark and were 12-of-32 (37.5%) behind the arc. UT held a slight advantage in the rebounding department.

Forty-nine fouls were called in the game. Toledo converted 27-of-37 (73.0%) free-throw attempts compared to YSU's 23-of-28 totals (82.1%).

Toledo trailed 44-39 at halftime and fell behind by as many as 12 points early in the second half. The Rockets rallied to take a 62-60 lead though with a 13-0 run with 10 minutes remaining.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

• Sam Lewis scored seven points as YSU jumped out to an early 12-9 lead.
• Sonny Wilson's layup with 11:43 left in the half cut the Rockets' deficit to 21-18.
• The Penguins stretched their advantage to seven before Toledo rallied and made it a one-point game, 29-28, at the 6:20 mark.
• YSU responded with a 7-0 spurt for a 36-28 cushion less than two minutes later.
• Isaiah Adams' floater at the buzzer left the Rockets with a 44-39 halftime deficit.
• Adams topped Toledo in the first half with 12 points.
• The Rockets shot 46.4% in the opening 20 minutes, slightly better than YSU's 43.8 mark.

SECOND HALF

• A 10-1 spurt pushed the Penguins' lead to 56-44 four minutes into the second stanza.
• Lewis capped off a 13-0 run with a layup to put the Rockets in front, 62-60, with 10:10 to play.
• Wilson's two free throws a minute later gave UT its largest lead of the day, 65-62.
• YSU rebounded to a take a five-point edge, 74-69, with 6:21 left, but UT rallied again to knot the score at 76-76 with 4:10 left on a Javan Simmons putback.
• Toledo had a chance to tie the score at 85-85 with 51 seconds left but Andre Lorentsson's three-pointer rimmed out.

UP NEXT
Toledo is back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 18 when it travels to Houston, Texas to face the No. 13/15 Cougars. Tip-off time is set for 7:00 p.m. CT with streaming on ESPN+.