Toledo men claim road win at Penn

PHILADELPHIA — The University of Toledo men’s basketball team topped Penn 85-72 on Friday at the Palestra, stretching its win streak to three games.

Senior Tre’Shaun Fletcher paced the Rockets (8-5) with 21 points, while junior Jaelan Sanford added 19 points. Junior Nate Navigato chipped in with 14 points and freshman Marreon Jackson had 12 points.

Toledo's Tre'Shaun Fletcher, shown in a game earlier this season, scored 21 points in the Rockets' win over Penn Friday.

Ryan Betley led Penn (9-5) with 20 points, Darnell Foreman scored 16 points, and Max Rothschild added 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Penn had a 37-33 lead at halftime, but Toledo outscored the Quakers 52-35 in the second half.

A Navigato 3-pointer with three minutes left gave Toledo a 72-65 lead. Foreman answered for Penn with a 3 that cut the lead to 72-68 with 2:32 left.

Fletcher then hit a jump shot to make it 74-68. Penn again cut the lead to four on a jumper from AJ Brodeur.

But Navigato hit another big 3 to stretch the UT lead to 77-70 with 1:30 left. Foreman missed a 3 on Penn’s next possession, and Toledo hit six consecutive free throws and Navigato punctuated the win with a dunk.

The Rockets were red-hot from 3-point range, making 9-of-14 (64.3 percent) from outside. Toledo shot 52.6 percent from the field and made 16-of-20 from the foul line.

In the second half, Toledo shot a blistering 72 percent from the field.

Penn, meanwhile, struggled to make 3s, shooting just 8-of-30 (26.7 percent). The Quakers shot 43.1 percent from the field and made 8-of-12 free throws.

Toledo will play at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Buffalo to open Mid-American Conference play.