Toledo (5-2) held a 65-57 lead with . . .
Senior Luke Knapke paced the Toledo attack with 17 points to go along with seven rebounds. He was joined in double figures by juniors Spencer Littleson (14 pts.) and Marreon Jackson (13 pts.). Junior Willie Jackson grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds to help the Rockets to a slight 36-35 advantage on the boards.
Toledo also forced 14 Oakland turnovers with Marreon Jackson and Littleson each grabbing three steals.
Freshman Blake Lampman paced four Golden Grizzlies in double figures with 18 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF
Toledo jumped out to an early 7-2 lead and led until Oakland put together an 8-0 spurt to take a 16-13 advantage with 11:45 remaining in the half.
The lead then changed hands three more times until Spencer Littleson buried back-to-back three-point field goals gave the Rockets the lead for good, 35-31, with just under two minutes remaining in the opening stanza.
Toledo took a 36-33 lead into the locker room with Littleson setting the pace with 12 points.
SECOND HALF
Luke Knapke scored seven quick points after the break to extend the Rockets' lead to 48-40 for Toledo's largest point advantage of the evening.
Oakland reduced its deficit to 57-55 with 8:37 to play, but Marreon Jackson responded with eight straight points to put Toledo's lead back to eight, 65-57, at the 3:48 mark.
The Rockets missed their next six shots to allow the Golden Grizzlies back in the contest.
Littleson had a chance to provide Toledo some breathing room but missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 12.2 seconds left.
A pair of Oakland three-pointers rimmed out before the buzzer sounded to give the Rockets the victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>> The Rockets are 4-0 at home this season and are 18-2 (.900) in Savage Arena since the start of the 2018-19 season.
>> Toledo leads its all-time series vs. Oakland by a 9-6 margin.
>> Senior Luke Knapke led Toledo in scoring for the first time this season. He also blocked two shots and his three away from tying Nathan Boothe's career record of 155 blocks.
>> Senior Willie Jackson's 14 boards marked his sixth double-digit rebounding contest of the season. He entered tonight's game ranked fourth nationally.
>> Sophomore Gavin Bizeau made his Rocket debut after receiving a waiver from the NCAA following his transfer from Duquesne last spring. He scored five points in 12 minutes and hit a three-point field goal on his first shot of the game.