Rockets Cruise to Dominating 93-75 Win at Ball State

MUNCIE, Ind. – Sophomore Sam Lewis tied his career high with 21 points and fifth-year senior Isaiah Adams poured in a season-high 20 points to lead the Toledo men’s basketball team to a dominating 93-75 road win over Ball State on Saturday afternoon in Worthen Arena.

The victory moved the Rockets (10-7, 4-1 MAC) into a third-place tie in the Mid-American Conference standings with Ohio, one game behind league co-leaders Akron (12-5, 5-0 MAC) and Miami (13-4, 5-0 MAC).

“It was a high-level game played by both teams today,” Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. “I thought both teams played well, and we were unbelievably efficient on the offensive end.”

Sophomore Javan Simmons registered his first double-double for the season for the Rockets to join Lewis and Adams in double figures. He finished with 16 points and a season-high 12 rebounds. Sophomores Sonny Wilson and Bryce Ford tallied 15 and 12 points, respectively, with each grabbing seven boards.

Toledo and Ball State were both efficient offensively, shooting 53.7% from the field. The Rockets also committed just five turnovers on the afternoon, its fourth game this season with five or fewer miscues.

Simmons’ work on the boards helped the Rockets dominate the Cardinals on the glass by 37-26 margin, leading to a commanding 26-7 advantage in second-chance points.

Senior Payton Sparks paced the Cardinals with 20 points and nine rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

Neither team led by more than two points until Payton Sparks put the hosts up 10-6 less than five minutes into the game.

Seth Hubbard’s jumper capped off a 6-0 run that put the Rockets in front, 24-20, with nine minutes left in the half.

Toledo took the lead for good, 31-28, on Andre Lorentsson’s three-pointer at the 4:51 mark.

Sonny Wilson’s layup extended the Rockets’ cushion to 42-36 a minute before halftime before UT settled for a 44-40 advantage at intermission.

Isaiah Adams led the Rockets in the half with 11 pts.

SECOND HALF

Sam Lewis scored seven points in the first five minutes after halftime to extend Toledo’s lead to 58-49.

Adams’ driving layup gave UT its first double-digit advantage, 62-51, at the 13:37 mark.

A three-pointer from Adams two minutes later increased the Rockets’ margin to 70-57.

Toledo’s lead didn’t dip below 10 points for the remainder of the contest.

ROCKET ROUNDUP

Javan Simmons’ double-double was the third of his Rocket career.

Bryce Ford grabbed a career-high seven rebounds and scored in double digits for the fifth time this season.

Toledo tied its season high with an 88.2 FT% (15-of-17) and has a 78.4 FT% in MAC play.

Five or more Rockets scored in double figures for the eighth time this season.

Toledo has won eight of its last 12 meetings vs. Ball State.

The Rockets are 66-14 (.825) in league play and 30-10 (.750) in MAC road games since the start of the 2020-21 season.

UP NEXT
The Rockets return home to host Kent State (11-6, 2-3 MAC) on Tuesday, Jan. 21. The Rockets will then visit arch-rival Bowling Green (7-10, 2-3 MAC) on Friday, Jan. 24 and Ohio (10-7, 4-1 MAC) on Tuesday, Jan. 28 before returning home to host Northern Illinois (4-13, 0-5 MAC) on Saturday, Feb. 1.