TOLEDO, Ohio —The Toledo men's basketball team staged a furious second-half comeback before falling 76-74 to South Alabama in its 2025-26 season opener on Monday night in Savage Arena.

Trailing by 13 at halftime, the Rockets came out of the locker room and outscored the Jaguars 48-37 in the second half to nearly erase a 19-point deficit. Toledo had a shot to win the game at the buzzer but freshman Leroy Blyden Jr.'s three-pointer rimmed out.

Senior Kyler Vanderjagt and Blyden led the Rockets with 17 points. VanderJagt knocked down 4-of-6 shots from beyond the arc and was a perfect 3-for-3 from the free throw line. Blyden provided a spark off the bench, nailing five three-pointers to go along with a game-high nine assists and two blocked shots.

Junior Sonny Wilson was the only other Rocket in double figures with 15 points. Senior Sean Craig grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

Toledo struggled to find its rhythm early, shooting just 33.3% from the field and 18.8% from three-point range in the first half. The Rockets flipped the script after the break though, connecting on 60.7% of their shots and an impressive 70.6% from deep.

Adam Olsen topped South Alabama with 23 points.

QUOTING COACH KOWALCZYK
"South Alabama played a really good zone and that's not something you can simulate in practice. I thought we clearly had the advantage inside tonight, but when you're going against a zone like that, it's hard to get the ball inside. I thought we lost our confidence on the defensive end the way we started the game. I was very excited that we came back and had a chance to win the game. We'll learn from it and move on."

ROCKET LEADERS

• Kyler VanderJagt: 17 pts., 4-6 3FG, 3-3 FT
• Leroy Blyden Jr.: 17 pts., 9 asst., 5-10 3FG, 2 blks.
• Sonny Wilson: 15 pts., 3 reb., 2 asst., 2 stls.

TEAM STATS
Toledo: 47.3 FG%, 45.5 3PTFG% (15-of-33), 77.8 FT% (7-of-9), 26 Reb., 21 Asst., 11 TO
South Alabama: 55.2 FG%, 36.8 3PTFG% (7-of-19), 38.5 FT% (5-of-13), 36 Reb., 16 Asst., 10 TO

ROCKET ROUNDUP

• Toledo's 15 three-point field goals were its most in a game since hitting 15 vs. Miami on Feb. 16, 2021.
• Leroy Blyden's five three-pointers were the most by a Rocket since Dante Maddox Jr. buried six vs. Bowling Green on Jan. 27, 2024.
• The Rockets' 21 assists were their most against a Division I opponent since tallying 22 vs. Northern Illinois on Feb. 27, 2024.

UP NEXT
Toledo (0-1) will look to bounce back when it hosts Marshall (1-0) on Saturday, Nov. 8. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m. in Savage Arena with streaming on ESPN+.