TOLEDO, Ohio – Freshman Sonny Wilson scored a season-high 18 points to help the Toledo men's basketball team move into a first-place tie in the Mid-American Conference with a 72-64 home victory over Akron. The three-time defending league champion Rockets (17-9, 11-2 MAC) and Zips (19-7, 11-2 MAC) are now tied for first place in the league standings with five games remaining in the regular season.

"We did a great job defensively from start to finish," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "Sonny's play for us was huge. His defense has been good all year and his biggest improvement has been learning that when he touches the ball he doesn't need to shoot and score. Two other big keys for us were committing only nine turnovers and the play of our bench. We really needed for them to come through tonight and they did. Next up we have a big rivalry game. We're in the championship hunt and playing for a lot."

Joining Wilson in double digits were juniors Tyler Cochran (17 pts., three steals) and Ra'Heim Moss (12 pts., 8 reb.). Redshirt freshman Javan Simmons scored nine points and tallied season highs in assists (6) and steals (3), while junior Dante Maddox Jr. contributed eight points and tied his season high with nine rebounds.

Senior Greg Tribble paced the Zips with 19 points, with senior Enrique Freeman and Ali Ali notching 14 points apiece. Freeman also grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds to help Akron to a slight 41-38 advantage on the boards.

The Rockets shot just 42.2% from the field but converted 34.8% (8-of-23) of its shots behind the arc. UT limited the Zips to a 39.7 shooting mark and a 25.9% clip (7-of-27) from downtown.

Toledo committed just eight turnovers and registered 10 steals leading to 13 Zips' miscues.

Toledo returns to action on Friday, Feb. 23 when it visits Bowling Green for second installment of the Battle of I-75 this season. The contest will be televised nationally on ESPNU and tip off at 7:00 p.m.

BY THE NUMBERS

• The Rockets have won 26 of their last 28 MAC games with their only losses a three-point setback at Central Michigan (Jan. 19) and a seven-point defeat at Akron (Feb. 2).
• Toledo is 59-11 (.843) in league play since the start of the 2020-21 season. The Rockets are 33-3 (.917) in MAC home games and 26-8 (.765) in MAC road games.
• Akron's 22 points in the opening 20 minutes were the fewest points in a half by a UT opponent this season.
• Tonight's victory secured a spot for the Rockets in this year's MAC Tournament in Cleveland on March 14-16.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

• Toledo trailed 4-1 at the first media timeout but Ra'Heim Moss and Dante Maddox Jr. hit back-to-back triples for a 7-6 lead at the 14:47 mark.                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
• Tyler Cochran's five straight points extended the Rockets' margin to 16-11 midway through the opening stanza.
• Sonny Wilson's three-point play gave UT its largest lead of the half, 32-20, less than a minute before the break.
• Toledo took a 32-22 lead to the locker room after limiting the Zips to a 29.6 FG%.
• Moss and Wilson led UT in the first half with nine points apiece.

SECOND HALF

• Akron cut the Rockets' lead to 41-37, but UT responded with 7-0 spurt capped off by a Bryce Ford three-pointer with 12:09 to play.
• Toledo extended its lead to 60-45 on Javan Simmons' three-pointer at the 7:27 mark.
• The Zips rallied with a 13-2 spurt to close within four points, 64-60, with 3:05 remaining.
• The Rockets then scored on three straight possessions down the stretch to maintain at least a two-possession lead and secure the win.