Junior guard Jaelan Sanford . . .
Sophomore guard Justin Roberts just missed out on scoring in double figures by finishing with a career-high nine points. Fletcher also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, while Navigato dished out a team-best four assists.
Graduate forward Kevin Mickle paced Ohio offensively with 24 points, while freshman guard Teyvion Kirk registered a double-double with 21 points and game-high 10 rebounds.
The Bobcats held a 37-33 advantage on the boards and outscored UT in the paint by a 36-22 margin. The Rockets, however, made up for that disparity by tallying season highs in both free throws made (32) and free throws attempted (37).
Toledo knocked down 10 of its first 15 shots and six of nine three-point attempts but finished with a 41.2 field-goal percentage after shooting 29.2 percent in the second half. Ohio shot slightly better with a 42.9 mark but was just 5-of-17 (29.4 percent) from three-point range.
Fletcher, Navigato and freshman guard Marreon Jackson keyed the Rockets' quick start by each burying a three-pointer as Ohio missed its first seven shots from the field. Mickle then put the Bobcats on his back by scoring 11 consecutive points to cut Toledo's lead to 18-11 with just over 12 minutes remaining in the half.
UT maintained a double-digit margin for the final eight minutes of the period and extended its advantage to 37-19 following a Navigato trey with 4:48 remaining in the first half. Ohio responded to its largest deficit in the contest, though, with a 10-2 spurt to trail by 10 points, 39-29, at intermission.
After the Bobcats clawed to within 43-36 following a Kirk layup less than three minutes into the second stanza, UT moved to put the game out of reach. The Rockets answered with a 12-2 burst for a 55-38 lead before another Kirk layup ignited a 9-0 run by the visitors to return the Rockets' lead back into single digits at 55-47 with 10:11 to play.
Toledo kept its distance until sophomore guard James Gollon's layup brought Ohio within 65-59 with 3:56 remaining. Fletcher answered that basket with a jumper in the lane that just beat the shot clock. Mickle's jumper pulled the Bobcats within six on the ensuing possession, but UT closed out the game by knocking down 15 of 16 free-throw attempts.
NEXT:
Both teams return to action Saturday. Toledo travels to Muncie, Ind. to battle Ball State (2 p.m. ET).
Ohio hosts rival Miami (3:30 p.m. ET)