The Toledo Rockets shot the lights out at the Cam Henderson Center Sunday afternoon propelling them past the Marshall Thundering Herd men’s basketball team 96-70.

“Obviously they (Toledo) shot the tar out of it, especially early,” Head Coach Dan D’Antoni said after the loss.

Toledo caught fire early in first half of the game shooting 61.1% from the three-point line, making 11 of the 18 shots taken. The Rockets were finding wide-open shooters all half while Marshall was getting opportunities, but failing to convert, shooting only 3-12 from the three-point line.

One of the players that continued the hot hands in the second half was junior guard Spencer Littleson who led Toledo with 27-points after making 8-11 of his attempts and going 6-8 from behind the arc.

“That is just what he (Littleson) does,” Toledo Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. “When you have three or four guys on the floor at the same time that can shoot, that opens it up for guys like Spencer.”

Despite Toledo holding a 34-55 lead over Marshall at the half, the Herd continued to battle in the second half. After a drilled three-pointer by junior forward Darius George in the midway point of the second half, the lead was cut to 14. However, when the squad would start cutting into the Rockets’ lead, turnovers or missed shots plagued the offense.

“I think our energy went down as we got down big,” junior guard Jarrod West said. “I think the turnovers played a big role in that. 17 as a team are definitely too many.”

Sophomore guard Taevion Kinsey and West led the way for ball club, both scoring 20-points a piece. No other Marshall player was in the double figures in points. The Herd shot 6-23 in three-point shots on the game.

Even though the Rockets only made three three’s (3-7) in the second half, the open shots continued to fall despite Marshall changing to a man-to-man defense.

“It is a learning experience,” D’Antoni said. “I have said it is going to be up and down all year long, and that is how it is going to be. We have things to work on and we will do that before next game.”

D’Antoni’s squad will travel away next game to face ACC opponent Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Joyce Center in Indiana on Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. EST.

Brigham Warf can be contacted at [email protected].