Maumee residents may have noticed some delicious new smells wafting from under a bright red awning at the corner of Wayne and Conant streets.
Maumee Valley Chocolate and Candy quietly opened its doors in November. The shop offers more than 700 varieties of treats, including chocolates, chocolate-dipped strawberries and specialty popcorn made fresh daily. It also offers gift baskets, retro candy, penny candy, lollipops, chocolate-covered pretzel rods, Oreos and graham crackers, 40 varieties of boxed chocolates, nuts and gummies as well as sugar-free treats.
Owner Stephanie Anderson said the idea was to offer something for everyone.

From left, General Manager Jason Sieminski, with Owner Stephanie Anderson and Jeff Anderson.

“Our goal in mind was to have the gourmet chocolates for those who are chocolate connoisseurs, but also for them to be able to have their children come in and have an affordable option like penny candy for the kids,” Anderson said. “We tried to make a mix of everything.”
If your favorite treat is not found on its shelves, the shop takes requests.
“We’ve actually had so many requests,” Anderson said. “Some of them we can’t find, but we’re trying to make the store kind of what the community wants, so they feel like they’re a part of it, too.”
Anderson and her husband, Jeff, who live in Maumee, had been eyeing the storefront for two years as they took walks with their young son.
“It’s something we’ve wanted to do for a long time, 10 years, but the question was where,” Jeff Anderson said. “This building is so beautiful, the history is so rich. We thought, ‘Hey, maybe this candy idea might actually come to life.’”
The building was built as a drugstore in 1905; the family renovated the original side windows as well as brightened the dark-colored interior of the building’s former tenant, a cigar shop, Jeff Anderson said.
Stephanie’s cousin Jason Sieminski, who serves as general manager, makes running the shop a family affair.
“We just really wanted to bring some family-oriented business to downtown, so people with kids like us could bring their kid to town, have some fun, and make an afternoon of it,” Stephanie Anderson said.
The couple’s son, now 3 ½ , loves to come in, grab one of shop’s red candy bags and “shop,” Jeff Anderson said.
The shop also offers full-service party and event catering for weddings, birthdays and holidays.
Candy stations have become popular at weddings, so the shop’s booth was a hit at a recent bridal show, Jeff Anderson said. Guests scarfed down a display of chocolates and strawberries before he had time to post that it was for display only, he said with a laugh.
The shop, which hosted a ribbon-cutting in December, did brisk business over the holidays, with gift baskets flying off the shelves as fast as they could make them, Jeff Anderson said, and support from the community has continued.
“We have a lot of local repeat customers that come in every couple days so that’s kind of neat,” Jeff Anderson said.
Maumee Valley Chocolate and Candy, 101 E. Wayne St., is open seven days a week: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Online ordering will be available soon. For more information, visit www.valleycandy.com or call (419) 893-2388.

Some local jewelers are stocking up on a new and unique bracelet in support of wounded veterans.
Licata Tradition and David Fairclough Fine Jewelers will now carry From Soldier to Soldier bracelets, sold as part of a national awareness and fundraising campaign benefiting Homes for Our Troops.
The campaign, which just recently launched, raises money for veterans by selling designer versions of survival and friendship bracelets worn by many soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“It’s just one of those things where we can try and do a little bit for our troops,” said Nick Licata, manager and designer at Licata Tradition. “The bracelets are really neat looking and have an interesting story behind them.”
Licata said his cousin, a member of the Air Force, first told him about the survival bracelets being worn in Afghanistan and about a group in the U.S. selling them to benefit veterans.
For each bracelet sold $25 goes to Homes for Our Troops, a nonprofit organization aimed at building homes for wounded veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.
“We think it certainly supports a worthy cause. These soldiers have been injured or lost limbs and need special housing,” said David Fairclough, owner of Fairclough Fine Jewelers. “I think it’s a great charitable thing. Any way we can help the troops, we’re happy to.”
From Soldier to Soldier is a campaign started by LovelinksAmerica in Massachusetts. The bracelets are made from parachute cord, like those made in the field by soldiers, and are 100 percent manufactured in America, said Niels Christiansen, CEO and president of LovelinksAmerica.  Eventually, the campaign plans to donate funds to additional programs that help wounded veterans, he said.
Licata Tradition sold out of its first shipment of bracelets, but expects to have more soon. Fairclough just got its first shipment in and is selling the bracelets.
Bracelets come with sterling silver or gold-plated clasps and vary in color. Prices for the bracelets vary between $95 and $145.
Licata Tradition is located at 2042 S. Byrne Road. David Fairclough is at 7141 W. Central Ave.
For more information about From Soldier to Soldier, visit the website www.fromsoldiertosoldier.org.

On Saturday Jan. 15, 2011, the 19th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Breakfast was held at Central Park West in Toledo. The theme of this year’s event was titled “Where is the Love?”

The event presented by members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Alpha Xi Lambda chapter is held yearly to raise money for their scholarship fund for deserving high school graduates with aspirations of attending college.

George Rice III, associate director of Multicultural Student Services at George Washington University, presented the keynote address for the event.

“Where is the Love?” asked Rice to an attentive audience. “I don’t know if we actually understand what the meaning of it is. Before we know ‘Where is the love?’ we need to know ‘What is the love?’”

Rice named the three types of love called “eros,” “philos” and “agape” and referenced these terms to King to describe his love for the civil rights movement and today’s generation’s love and respect for one another.

“Eros is the lustful kind of love,” Rice said. “It’s self-serving. It’s one of those phrases where one says ‘I got mine, now you go get yours.’”

Rice told the crowd to imagine if Dr. King had this erotic kind of love for the civil rights movement.

“Where will we be?” he asked.

Rice involved the audience into his speech by leading them into song with past hits such as The Temptations “My Girl” and Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together.” Rice said most current popular songs don’t present the same level of love and devotion to one another.

“In the 1960s, our language and behavior determined our music,” Rice said. “Now our music determines our language and behavior. Now we got songs like ‘My Chick Bad.’ That’s self-serving. That’s not the kind of love Dr. King had for the Civil Rights Movement.”

Rice then defined philos, which he said was love based on friendship.

“Imagine if Dr. King said he’s only taking people from a certain tax bracket,” he said. “What if he stated he was only taking those with a Bachelor’s degree or Ph.D. No, Dr. King said bring any and everybody who is willing to serve, love and ultimately die. The Civil Rights Movement was never a conditional movement.”

Rice lastly defined agape, which he referred to as unconditional love.

“Agape is unconditional love and this is type of love Dr. King had for the movement,” Rice said. “Even when situations proved to be inconvenient, uncomfortable or difficult, he still had an undying love to continue the movement to make a better tomorrow for our future generations.”

Rice hopes to use King’s legacy in his mission to mentor young men. Rice said he was a coach for many years.

“My philosophy is simple,” Rice said. “Approach one and coach one. It’s our duty to mentor, but mentor proactively. We need to show our youth how to be professional, how to conduct themselves, how to love and how to work. Doing that will help them develop as a responsible young adult.”

The United Way African American Initiatives donated $1,000 to the scholarship fund. It is the second year the organization has supported the event in its efforts to make college more affordable to young African American males.

“This is the second year the United Way African American Initiatives have provided scholarship dollars for this event,” Jason Daniels, vice president of Strategic Initiatives at the United Way of Greater Toledo, said. “Our focus at the United Way is to promote higher education among African American males. That’s why we’re here for the second year and we’re looking to continue to support this organization and their efforts to promote educational excellence throughout.”

Each year the Drum Major Award is presented to recipients who are very active in the community. This year’s recipients were Phillip Cunningham and Kamaron Kyser of the Thosefellas LLC. Cunningham said he was very surprised about being named a recipient of this award.

“Honestly, I’m shocked,” Cunningham said. “I just came to the breakfast and didn’t expect to win anything. I’m really excited about it. It lets me know we’re being noticed in the community.”

Cunningham added it was his parents’ involvement in his life, which encouraged him to perform his service to the community.

“It was my father who provided me with motivation to let me know I can accomplish anything I put my mind to,” Cunningham said. “He told me in order for me to do anything; I must go out and make it happen.”

Michael Stubblefield, president of Alpha Xi Lambda chapter, was pleased with the turnout of the event and said it’s the continuous support of the community, which makes it a success each year. He said it’s important for everyone in the community to step in to give back.

“Times are changing,” Stubblefield said. “We’re living in a very tumultuous time in this nation with education costs continuing to go up. Education is the key and we have to make sure we’re providing monies to continue the education of our young, so they may step in to help carry and pass the torch.”

Stubblefield added it’s important for the community to come together to honor Dr. King’s legacy.

“It’s important to bring together the community to raise funds for our scholarship and raise awareness of Dr. King’s legacy and remind everyone that his legacy is still relevant in 2011.”

Richard Autry is the author of this report

General Motors Co. will add a shift and more than 650 jobs at its assembly plant in Flint where it makes the hot-selling GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks, a person familiar with the plan said Jan 22. The move is yet another sign that truck sales are on the rise for the recovering automaker.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the announcement had not yet been publicly made.

A press conference is scheduled for Jan. 24 at 10:30 a.m. and comes as Chevy sales to small businesses have increased for three straight months, which GM says is an indication that small businesses across the country are beginning to reinvest.

The Detroit News reported earlier Saturday about the additional jobs at the factory.

The plant, which employs more than 2,000 hourly and salaried workers, builds the heavy-duty Chevrolet and GMC Sierra crew and regular cab trucks and the light-duty Chevrolet Silverado crew and regular cab trucks.

The additional workers will come from GM’s pool of laid-off workers, so no new employees will be hired, the person briefed on the announcement said. In the fourth quarter of last year, GM had about 3,500 laid-off workers in the pool nationwide.

There will be no added investment at the plant because GM is adding a third shift that will use the same equipment as the first two shifts.

A message seeking comment was left by the AP on Saturday with Ben Mata, president of United Auto Workers Local 598, which represents the plant.

The birthplace of GM, which sits 50 miles northwest of the company’s headquarters in Detroit, Flint was once was a powerful auto manufacturing town, but its economy and population have steadily declined over the past few decades. Flint Assembly opened in 1947 when the city was in a much different situation.

But like other factories in the state and elsewhere in the U.S., it is about to reap the benefits of the changing good fortunes of the domestic car industry.

Two months ago, General Motors announced a $163 million investment in a separate Flint plant as well as facilities in Bay City, Michigan, and an Ohio foundry to make small-car engines, and Chrysler said it was going to pump $843 million into three Indiana factories to build a new front-wheel-drive transmission.

Both companies are recovering from the 2009 auto industry meltdown when they were forced to take government bailouts to make it through bankruptcy protection.

And just a few days ago, Ford Motor Co. said it would be retaining nearly 3,750 jobs and spending about $400 million to upgrade a Missouri plant that had been in danger of closing.

The Jan. 23 Toledo Free Press is available electronically at the below link. This week’s cover story is on Toledo’s William Buford, one of the basketball stars of The Ohio State Buckeyes.

In the 1979 movie The China Syndrome, it was postulated that, following a catastrophic meltdown, the core of an American nuclear power plant would gnaw its way to the opposite side of the globe in China. Never mind the geographical incorrectness; the hypothetical meltdown would reach the Indian Ocean. But then The Indian Ocean Syndrome just doesn’t have that certain ring to it. In order to reach China, the plant would have to have been in central South America, but demonizing the American nuclear power industry was far more politically correct. Be that as it may: The movie’s title lends itself to a credibility meltdown – yes, another one – for President Obama.

Labor union leadership passionately supports progressive Democrats. So passionately that, from 1990 through 2008, unions gave $614,000,000 to Democrat candidates. (But they were bipartisan in their giving; another whopping $53,000,000 went to other parties!) $68,300,000 was given to the Democrats in 2008 alone, and union members were urged to vote for Obama because, to borrow a cliché, he would “fight for working families.”

Unions are also deeply concerned about jobs leaving the country, with China bearing much of the blame. The AFL-CIO website, for instance, links articles on jobs lost due to the trade deficit with China, as well about as the rights of Chinese workers and other topics. They also loathe Wal-Mart; again, on the AFL-CIO site, one finds articles bemoaning Wal-Mart’s alleged harm to communities and the environment, its abuse of worker’s rights, and the exportation of American jobs thanks to Wal-Mart’s imports.

But what did the unions get for their support of Obama? Besides the worst period of prolonged unemployment since the Great Depression, how about celebration of China’s economic success and praise for Wal-Mart?

During Chinese President Hu Jintao’s state visit to Washington on the 19th, President Obama went out his way to express admiration for China’s economy. In his welcoming remarks for President Hu, Obama said, “The United States welcomes China’s rise as a strong, prosperous and successful member of the community of nations. Indeed, China’s success has brought with it economic benefits for our people as well as yours . . .” Later in the day, he praised China’s “extraordinary economic growth,” then, in a roundtable with American and Chinese business leaders, all but called American unions liars when he flatly contradicted the union position concerning China’s role in the exportation of American jobs.

The next day, Michelle Obama revealed that she is in cahoots with Wal-Mart, which has inaugurated a new “Nutrition Charter” in cooperation with her efforts to promote healthier eating. The First Lady lauded “the largest corporation in America (for) launching a new initiative that has the potential to transform the marketplace.” I’m not making this up, all quotes are from the White House website.

The unions need to ask just whose side the Obamas are on. Big Labor poured millions of dollars into his presidential campaign, and have supported his agenda as they decry job loss to China and despise Wal-Mart for, among other things, its massive imports from China. Yet their hero says China’s emerging economic dominance of the United States benefits American workers and he publicly undercuts the unions’ position on China, while his wife praises Wal-Mart, the company unions detest for its role in transforming the marketplace through closure of businesses, exporting jobs and inflating the trade deficit with China.

While I can understand the political sensitivities involved in President Obama’s remarks towards President Hu, the champion in the “fight for working families” seems to have taken a fall for labor’s enemies even as union and non-union workers alike remain unemployed thanks in no small part to his policies. Perhaps the unions need to rethink their allegiances.

Thomas Berry, for the Children of Liberty, www.meetup.com/The-children-of-liberty.

More than one homeowner this holiday season has been surprised to find something better suited for Halloween mixed in with the tinsel and bulbs stowed in their attic – a sleepy little bat.

A bat recently taken to Nature's Nursery

Three big brown bats – the most common bat found in northwest Ohio – have been brought to Nature’s Nursery recently after being discovered in someone’s Christmas decorations.

“A lot of people have bats living in their attic,” said Laura Zitzelberger, executive director of the wildlife rehabilitation center, which is located at Metroparks Blue Creek Conservation Area in Whitehouse.

Winter is prime time to find bats indoors or under piles of leaves sleeping away the winter. If you do find one, Zitzelberger advises that it’s best to leave it sleep, if possible. Disturbing its hibernation could be fatal to the animal, and come spring, it will find its way out the way it got in.

Let’s face it, bats aren’t likely to make many people’s list of favorite wildlife. Fear of bats leads to many of them being killed or chased out into the cold.

“People tend to have strong opinions about them,” said Jessica Sewald, a Ph.D. candidate in biology at Bowling Green State University, who has spent a great deal of time with the fuzzy, flying mammals.

But Sewald thinks the more people know about bats, the more protective of them they are likely to become.

For example, bats are probably not as large and scary as people perceive them to be in the moonlight. “The biggest bat in North America weighs less than an Altoids can,” Sewald said. And despite their infamously menacing image, just three out of the more than 1,100 known species of bats are the “vampire” variety – and they are found only in Latin America. (For the record, “They don’t ‘drink’ blood – they lap it up like a dog,” she added.)

Two other bat myths to dispel:

• Bats are “carriers” of rabies. Not true, said Sewald. Just one-half of one percent of bats contract rabies, about the same as any other mammal. Bats are no more prone to rabies than a any other wild animal, she said, adding that like other animals, bats die from the disease; they don’t “carry” it.
• Bats attack. Any cornered or sick animal will defend itself, and bats can bite. If a bat is easily approachable, it is probably sick and people should keep their distance. But, Sewald said, stories of bats swooping down to attack people are exaggerated. The little animals aren’t going to go out of their way to pick a fight. More likely, a swooping bat is simply snatching insects from the air.

That brings up one of the key benefits of bats: They are bug-eating machines. One big brown bat can consume up to 1,200 mosquito-sized, night-flying insects per hour. “That’s the equivalent of us eating 50 pizzas a day,” Sewald said. A pregnant or nursing bat may eat its body weight in insects each night, including many agricultural pests.

If that’s not enough to make you love bats, consider this: without bats, there would be no margaritas. Long-nose bats are the main pollinator of the agave plant from which tequila is distilled. Various species of bats also pollinate bananas, avocados, dates, figs, peaches, mangoes, cloves, cashews balsa wood and other flowering plants.

Sewald, accompanied by four undergraduate students, spent many nights, five hours at a time, from mid-May through August last year catching bats in nets at Oak Openings Preserve Metropark for a study that she said is intended to “identify what’s here and where.

“The first step in conserving a species is to study where they’re at and what their numbers are,” she said. She’s also on the lookout for white nose syndrome, a disease that causes bats to wake up early from hibernation, causing many to die.
Already she’s identified eight species, mostly big brown bats, followed by little browns and reds, but so far has not come across an Indiana bat, which is an endangered species.

Karen Menard, a supervisor in the Land Management Department at Metroparks, said research is one of the lesser-known uses of the Metroparks, attracting students and professions from a wide variety of disciplines. Recent research has focused on box turtles at Oak Openings, the lobelia plant at Swan Creek Preserve and Pearson, soils in the Wildwood floodplain and mammals at Wildwood and Oak Openings. Everything from wasps to badgers have been studied at Oak Openings, the largest and most unique natural area in the park system.

Sewald said she hopes to continue her bat research this summer.

“I’m very interested in education, and bats are one of those species you can use in education,” she said.
For more information about bats, Sewald and Zitzelberger recommend www.batcon.org, the website of Bat Conservation International.

Scott Carpenter is director of public relations for Metroparks of the Toledo Area.

In Hamilton County, a federal appeals court will make the next decision in a still-disputed juvenile court judge election in southwest Ohio. In Lucas County a case is still pending in the common pleas court system on a still-disputed commissioner’s election.

Lawyers for Hamilton County and Republican John Williams are contesting a federal judge’s ruling that about 150 disputed ballots should be counted before the winner is declared. The ballots were excluded because they were cast at the wrong precincts, but the judge said they shoud be counted because they apparently were miscast because of poll worker errors.

A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Court of Appeals heard arguments the evening of Jan. 20 about the Nov. 2 election, whose results gave Williams a 23-vote victory.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that lawyers for Democrat Tracie Hunter say the government must investigate any mistake that could disenfranchise voters.

“There needs to be a meaningful investigation here,” said attorney Jennifer Branch.

“Mistakes happen. Elections aren’t perfect,” said Dave Stevenson, attorney for the county’s board of elections. “Mistakes just don’t rise to a constitutional level.”

The case has potential implications for future Ohio elections beyond the juvenile judge race because it raises the question of whether state election laws adequately protect the constitutional rights of voters.

One of the three judges, John Rogers, expressed concern about a rise in election challenges in court.

“We don’t want to have a system where every time the vote is close, we have to have a federal case,” said Rogers.

The Ohio Supreme Court and Secretary of State Jon Husted say the poll workers were right to exclude ballots cast at the wrong place.

The appeals judges didn’t indicate when they would rule.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that Ohio has had one of the nation’s highest rates of provisional ballots, which are typically cast by voters who move and fail to update their addresses. Such ballots are held for 10 days to check the voters’ eligibility, which adds cost and uncertainty to the election process.

Approximately 105,000 provisional ballots were cast in November, 89 percent were counted.

“We need a better solution than what we have right now, and there are many approaches toward minimizing this problem,” said Secretary of State Jon Husted, a Republican to the Dispatch.

A bill that would require a ballot to be counted if the voter was in the right voting location but was told to vote in the wrong precinct was introduced by Ohio House Democrats.

Husted said the bill has constructive ideas and “is a good starting point.” He said voters need to be more responsible when it comes to making sure they are registered at the correct address.

In Lucas County, provisional ballots are at dispute in the Commissioner’s race. Initially it was believed Toledo City Councilman George Sarantou was the winner, after provisional ballots were counted the official winner was then Sylvania Township Trustee Carol Contrada. Contrada has been sworn into office as Commissioner.

Sarantou has a court case filing in Lucas County Common Pleas Court contesting the number of provisional ballots that were counted and the election results. A hearing on the merits of the petition is scheduled for Jan. 31.

Husted told the Dispatch he wants uniformity when it comes to how counties handle provisional ballots. “It doesn’t become an issue until there is a close election, but that’s also the time doing it the right way matters most,” Husted said.

Associated Press contributed to this report.

Editor’s note: Toledo Free Press will follow the Blank family of Millbury for the next year as they rebuild their lives after a June 5 tornado destroyed their Main Street home.

When the Blanks moved into their rebuilt home last month, everyone was ecstatic, except Rippy, who had a few choice meows.
“He likes it now, but the night he came, he cried a long time because he didn’t know what was going on,” Julie Blank said.

Rippy

The 4-year-old cat named after basketball player Rip Hamilton lost his home like the rest of the family when a tornado tore through Millbury. After being lost and found, Rippy moved with the rest of the family to their friends’ house in Perrysburg Township. Six weeks later, he moved with the family into a condo in Oregon.
When Rippy moved yet again in December, he became frazzled. John Dinon, executive director of the Toledo Area Humane Society (TAHS), said the cat’s reaction was normal. TAHS is part of the DART team — Disaster Animal Response Team, which went out the day after the tornado to look for missing animals.
Pets are not people, but they have some of the same characteristics as people and they like consistency,” Dinon said.
But just like people, animals vary in how they handle change, he said. Animal behavior is situation dependent. When people adopt from the shelter, animals are thought to be a certain way, but the assumption is once they get into a house situation, which is more normal than a shelter, things will get better, Dinon said.
Rippy only spent a little time at the shelter after the post-tornado chaos separated him from his family.
Julie doesn’t exactly know how it happened, but the night of the tornado, Rippy was in the basement with the family. When the water lines broke, she thinks he jumped into a cubby hole. Julie and the rest of the family lost track of him as they climbed through the rubble that used to be their house. Julie remembers thinking, “I just thought I had to worry about human life.”
But the next day, when a person at the scene said a cat had been found in a basement and taken to the Wood County Humane Society, Julie said, “Oh my God, it is mine.”
Dinon said the best way to help a pet adjust to a change is to keep some things as consistent as possible. In the Blanks’ case, it was good they kept the cat with them, even though they were moving a lot. Another tip is to set up a spot with a favorite bed and toy.

Despite 13 turnovers in the first half, Toledo held a one-point halftime advantage over Mid-American Conference West Division leader Ball State on Jan. 22 in Savage Arena. However, the Cardinals came out firing to start the second half and the Rockets never recovered as they fell 70-60.

“Maybe I shouldn’t be as disappointed as I am,” Toledo head coach Tod Kowalczyk said. “I’ve said this before: It’s got nothing to do with winning and losing. It really doesn’t. It’s how we approach the game, and I think this team’s having a hard time handling any type of success, whether it be in the course of the game or obviously on Wednesday, we played our tails off. We had unbelievable energy and grit and tonight, we’re up one at halftime against supposedly the best team in our league.

“To be honest, we had 13 turnovers and as many mental breakdowns as we’ve had probably in any half this year. We can’t afford to do that.”

Toledo (4-15, 1-4 MAC) was led by sophomore guard Malcolm Griffin’s game-high 25 points, his third-straight game with over 20 points and the first time in his career he has achieved that individual feat. Freshman guard Reese Holliday recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Ball State (13-4, 5-0 MAC) had three players finish with double figures in scoring, led by Randy Davis’ team-high 24 points. Cardinals’ leading scorer Jarrod Jones, who entered the contest ranked sixth in the MAC in scoring at 16 points per game, finished with 12 points, 10 of which were after halftime.

“Some of it was scouting mistakes in the second half,” Kowalczyk said of Jones. “He’s a 100 percent left shoulder post scorer, and we let him turn over his left shoulder. We’ve got to do a better job on our scouting.”

In the first half, the Rockets had six turnovers by the 13:48 mark but still held an 8-7 advantage. With 12:55 left to play in the half, freshman walk-on guard and Rossford graduate Zack Leahy dove on the floor and shoveled the loose ball up the floor to Griffin, who made the spinning layup that extended Toledo’s lead to 12-7. The Cardinals battled back to make it a one-point game again at the 8:43 mark after a three-pointer from Jesse Berry, then tied the game 40 seconds later on a free throw from Malik Perry.

However, three-straight treys from Holliday, freshman guard J.T. Thomas and Griffin put the Rockets ahead 25-18 with 5:16 remaining in the half. Ball State outscored Toledo 8-2 to close the period as the Rockets went into halftime with the 27-26 lead despite their 13 turnovers. Meanwhile, the Cardinals committed 9 turnovers of their own in the period but outscored Toledo’s bench 10-7.

Ball State started the second half with a 10-3 run and took a 36-30 lead by the 14:26 mark after another three from Berry. A floater from Griffin with 13:34 remaining ended that run, and a layup from freshman walk-on center and Genoa graduate Richard Wonnell made it 37-34 by the 10:59 mark. However, the Cardinals went on a 10-6 run after that to take a 47-40 lead with 5:57 left to play. Then, after Thomas jumped out of bounds to throw the loose ball back into play, it ended up in the hands of Jauwan Scaife, who got the and-one on his layup and made it 50-40 by the 5:09 mark.

While Toledo battled back to within six with 1:03 remaining, it was not enough to overcome the deficit as Ball State came away with the 10-point victory.

“Even though we were up by one at halftime, we turned the ball over too much,” Griffin said of the Rockets, who finished the game with 21 turnovers. “They came out with a little more intensity at the start of the second half and went on a little run, and we couldn’t get back ahead.”

Toledo will be action in Savage Arena again on Jan. 25 when it faces arch-rival Bowling Green (8-11, 3-2 MAC) at 7:30 p.m. The game will be televised on SportsTime Ohio.