"It's a disappointing loss," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "We got beat by a really good team. I thought the difference was their run in the second half. They got some easy buckets during that stretch, and we didn't."
Junior Marreon Jackson paced Toledo (8-4) offensively with 21 points and tied his career high with eight rebounds. Senior Willie Jackson tallied 15 points and a game-high nine boards, while senior Luke Knapke contributed 14 points and eight boards. Junior Dylan Alderson also was in double figures, finishing with 10 points, five rebounds and two steals.
Freshman Tanner Holden led the Raiders (10-3) with a career-high 27 points and 17 rebounds. He was 9-of-10 from the field and 9-of-12 from the charity stripe.
"Tanner Holden is a role player for Wright State, and he was a star for them in his role today," Kowalczyk said. "He was phenomenal. They didn't run any plays for him, but he kicked our tails. We gave up some offensive rebounds to him and that needs to be addressed."
Toledo shot 38.8 percent from the field and was 8-of-29 (27.6%) from behind the three-point arc. WSU posted a 41.9 FG% and was 5-of-18 (27.8%) percent behind the arc. The Raiders had a decided advantage at the free-throw line, hitting 22-of-28 attempts compared to Toledo's 12-of-18 totals.
The game was a back-and-forth affair with 10 lead changes until Wright State created separation a few minutes into the second half. Toledo fought back and trailed just 42-40 with 12:36 remaining, but Holden provided the spark WSU needed by scoring eight points during the key stretch to put the visitors in front 52-40.
Toledo returns to action following the Christmas holiday on Saturday, Dec. 28 with a trip to Peoria, Ill. to battle Missouri Valley Conference foe Bradley (8-4). Tip-off time from Carver Arena is 1:00 p.m. CT.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF
Toledo fell behind 10-4 in the first five minutes but Luke Knapke's trey brought the Rockets within 10-9 at the 13:51 mark.
Knapke's jumper in the paint capped off a 9-0 run to give Toledo its second lead of the game, 20-19, with 7:39 left in the first half.
Willie Jackson and Spencer Littleson each knocked down a pair of free throws to knot the score at 27-27 five minutes later.
Cole Gentry's three-pointer five seconds before halftime gave the visitors a 32-29 lead heading to the locker room.
SECOND HALF
Toledo came out strong and took a 33-32 lead following back-to-back layups from Wille Jackson.
The Rockets took their last lead, 36-35, on Spencer Littleson's three-point field goal with 17:11 to play.
Gentry answered Littleson's triple with a trey of his own on the Raiders next possession to give WSU the lead for good with 16:48 remaining.
Toledo stayed within striking distance the next five minutes before Wright State took advantage of pair of turnovers missed shots to take a double-digit lead.
The Rockets made a late charge in the final minutes, closing to within 71-65 with 54.2 seconds left following Marreon Jackson's steal and layup.
Gentry closed out the contest by making eight straight free throws to eliminate any hopes of a Toledo comeback.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Willie Jackson scored a season-high 15 points for a second straight game and has scored in double digits in five straight contests.
Luke Knapke is the only Rocket to score in double digits in every game this season.
Toledo limited the Raiders' two leading scorers, Bill Wampler and Loudon Love, to 15 points on 6-of-24 shooting.