KENT, Ohio — For skilled 3-point shooting teams, the saying goes, one make is contagious.

In that case, the M.A.C. Center might need to be quarantined.

The University of Toledo men's basketball team set off an avalanche of 3-pointers in the second half Saturday at Kent State, a span of 12 minutes during which it felt like the Rockets could not miss. Despite the best efforts of Kent State, Toledo's accurate shooting proved to be the difference in the Rockets' 82-67 victory.

The Rockets made 12 of their 19 shots from behind the arc — a season-best 63.2 percent — including nine 3s in the second half.

“We missed some open shots in the first half, but in the second half we came out hitting,” UT center Nathan Boothe said. “Every time you hit some shots, the whole team's confidence just goes skyrocketing.”

Boothe scored 26 points and added 12 rebounds for his fifth consecutive double-double and 11th overall. Jonathan Williams made 7-for-8 field goals for 17 points, and he tied a career-high with six assists.

Nate Navigato added 11 points off the bench for UT (14-9, 5-5 Mid-American Conference), which has won back-to-back games convincingly following a three-game losing streak.

Against a physical Kent State (15-8, 6-4) team, the Rockets were able to control the game.

“I just think, from start to finish, a really good win for our guys and for our program to come into Kent State, which is a very difficult place to play and a very talented team, a well-coached team,” UT coach Tod Kowalczyk said.

Using free throws and defense, the Rockets created their first lead near the midway point of the first half and never lost it. UT held Kent State to 11-for-28 shooting (39.3 percent) from the floor in the first half.

UT didn't shoot much better, connecting on 9-for-22 (40.9 percent), but Boothe and Jordan Lauf were able to make regular trips to the free-throw line. UT made 10 of its 11 attempts in the first half and took a 31-26 lead into halftime.

Boothe made six of his seven first-half free throws, while Lauf made all four of his attempts.

Toledo started the second half with a barrage of 3-pointers, set off by Jaelan Sanford's make from the left side of the arc.

“When Jaelan hit that, I feel like everyone just went off from there,” Navigato said. “Especially in the second half, we just started firing.”

The Rockets' first four 3s helped push their lead from five to 14 in fewer than four minutes to begin the second half.

And the 3s kept coming. By the time it was all finished, six different Rockets made at least one 3-pointer in the second half, during which the Rockets shot 9-for-11 from 3.

Kent State was able to score regularly — the Flashes had 41 points during the second half — but couldn't keep pace.

The Flashes briefly cut the lead to 10 with 3:35 to go, but Lauf made a basket plus a free throw, and Boothe connected on two free throws to run the lead to 15. The Rockets finished the win without trouble from there.

The Flashes started the season 6-1 in the MAC, but have not won since point guard Xavier Pollard suffered a fractured foot at Ohio. 

Pollard is out for the season following surgery to repair the injury.

The Rockets will continue their road trip with a game at Buffalo on Tuesday night.

Contact Nicholas Piotrowicz at: npiotrowicz@theblade.com, 724-6110, or on Twitter @NickPiotrowicz

First Published February 7, 2016, 5:19 a.m.