Rockets Defeat Ball State 58-54

The Rockets fought back from an early 10 point deficit to defeat Ball State 58-54 to open Mid-American Conference play with a win. The Rockets have now won 15 straight conference home games.

Toledo (4-9, 1-0) fought back from an early 10 point deficit to knock off the struggling Ball State Cardinals (1-12, 0-1) 58-54. Senior Jerrah Young led the way for the Rockets with his second straight double double. Young had 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Ball St started out hot and jumped to a 19-9 lead with 12:38 remaining in the first half. Senior guard Peyton Stovall played nearly the whole game sitting out for only one minute and scored 18 points, including two three point field goals that helped BSU jump ahead.

Cardinals forward Anthony Newell was the only other visiting player to put up more than five points as he led the game with 22, shooting 9 for 20 from the field, along with 8 rebounds.
BR> Rocket freshman guard Corey Bingham saw a lot of playing time while Jonathan Amos was in foul trouble, and proved he deserved it when he hit back-to-back three pointers to tie the game at 39-39 for the first time since the opening minutes. Bingham finished the game with 8 points.

Junior guards Tyrone Kent and Ridley Johnson also scored in double figures with 12 and 11 points. Kent, who usually leads the Rockets, slumped for most of the first half and only shot 21% from the field.

Free throws were almost the difference in the game when Toledo could not hit a shot from the charity to seal it off. The Rockets finished 62.5% from the line, while Ball St shot 85.7%.

The Rockets have now won 15 straight MAC home games since they lost to Ohio on January 2nd, 2006. Toledo is also 20-2 overall over that timespan at Savage Hall.

Toledo travels to Dekalb, Illinois for their first road MAC game against Northern Illinois (3-10, 0-1) next Sunday. They return home to try to keep the home win streak alive versus the Chippewas from Central Michigan on Wednesday, January 16th.