Toledo falls to MAC East leading Zips 86-72

The leaders of the Mid-American Conference East Division proved too much for the Rockets, who fell 86-72 at Akron Wednesday night.

Toledo shot nearly 50 percent (28-of-59) from the field but could not stymie a Zips offense which shot nearly as well just from behind the arc (8-19) and drained 60 percent (30-of-50) of their shots from the field.

Sophomore guard Rian Pearson led all scorers with a career-high 29 points to go with a game-best 12 boards and 4 steals. Freshman guard Julius Brown was the only other Rocket to reach double figures, adding 12 points and 5 rebounds off the bench.

Guard Quincy Diggs and center Zeke Marshall paced Akron with 14 points each as Marshall clogged the lane with a game-high 5 rejections.

Forward Chauncey Gilliam contributed 11 points while teammate Nikola Cvetinovic posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds to round out the four Zips who reached double figures.

The Rockets kept things close in the early going before an 11-5 spurt by Akron pushed the lead to 14 at 31-17 with 7:24 left in the first half.

 A timeout sparked a 10-0 run by Toledo, cutting the deficit to 31-27 at the 4:03 mark but the Zips extended their lead to 43-34 at the half.

A dunk by Pearson would bring the Rockets within 1 at the 13:13 mark of the second half, after which he was called for a technical foul for hanging on the rim.

Pearson's maneuver only seemed to fuel Akron, who then went on an 11-2 run behind a pair of Brett McClanahan three-pointers. UT would not come closer than nine points from the lead the remainder of the contest.

The Rockets will return to Savage Arena Saturday, Nov. 4 to take on Buffalo. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.