Recap: Toledo vs. Samford

Fort Myers, FL (Sports Network) - Julius Brown scored a game-high 25 points in leading the Rockets to their first win of the season, as Toledo defeated Samford, 82-69, on Wednesday.

Dominique Buckley chipped in with 15 points, converting 3-of-4 from 3-point range, while Rian Pearson scored 17 for the Rockets (1-3), who used a strong second half to avoid their fourth straight loss to begin the season.

Clide Geffrard Jr. paced Samford (1-4) with 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting in the Bulldogs' third straight loss. Tim Williams tallied 14 points and nine rebounds and Raijon Kelly contributed 17 points in the setback.

The contest was part of a two-game tournament at Florida Gulf Coast University. Toledo will next face FGCU, while Samford will take on Alcorn State. Both games are scheduled for Thursday.

Geffrard Jr. scored the final five points of the first half to give Samford a 31-27 advantage going into halftime, but Toledo began the second stanza on a 13-0 run, which featured six points from Brown.

Two minutes later, Brown gave the Rockets their largest lead of the game when he buried a 3-pointer to put Toledo on top 50-35.

The Bulldogs used an 11-4 spurt to pull within two at 63-61 with 5:27 to play, but the Rockets converted 12-of-14 free throws down the stretch to put the game out of reach.