TOLEDO – Jaaron Simmons tied a school and Mid-American Conference record with 17 assists, and Ohio built a 22-point second-half lead before Toledo rallied to tie the game, but the Bobcats came away winners, 81-79, on Tuesday night at Savage Arena.

With Toledo trailing 81-77, Jaelan Sanford was fouled on a 3-pointer. He made the first two free throws and missed the third. The rebound was tipped out, swung around the perimeter, and Jonathan Williams got a solid look at a potential game-winning trey, but it rimmed out at the buzzer.

“This is probably the most happy I've been after a game since high school,” Simmons said. “To get our first true road win, in this environment -- it got pretty loud in here -- it feels great."

Following their worst offensive game of the year, the Bobcats (12-7, 3-4 MAC) were sharp Tuesday, led by Kenny Kaminski’s 22 points that included 5-of-12 3-point shooting. Antonio Campbell had 15 points and nine boards, and Setty and Simmons both had 12 points.

"Jaaron was the catalyst for us and put us in position,” Ohio coach Saul Phillips said. “Seventeen assists in a 40-minute game is just incredible. He's our swagger. He makes other people better."

Williams and Nathan Boothe, the MAC’s two leading scorers, had 21 points each for the Rockets (12-8, 3-4 MAC).

Ohio held its biggest lead, 52-30, on a Kaminski 3-pointer with 16:38 remaining, but Toledo fought its way back into the game, tying it on two Williams free throws with 3:47 left and then again on a Nate Navigato trey at the 2:47 mark after Kaminski had moved the Bobcats back on top.

Simmons put Ohio ahead, 79-77, with 2:30 remaining by making two free throws, but holding the lead was not easy as the Rockets got multiple chances to tie it again. Campbell blocked Boothe, and after Campbell missed on the other end, he made up for it again with a steal with 1:25 to go.

Campbell had to fire up a tough jumper with the shot clock winding down on the next possession, and the ball deflected out of bounds off of Toledo. Jordan Dartis missed a corner 3-pointer that could have put the Rockets away, but one more time, Campbell came up with a play on defense, stripping Boothe as he went up for a shot inside.

Setty followed with two free throws with 18 seconds left to set up the final sequence.

"We've seen what it takes and want to keep it going,” Campbell said.

Kaminski hit a pair of 3-pointers and Dartis capped a 13-0 run that gave Ohio an early 15-4 lead. The lead eventually ballooned to 32-11 on a Setty 3-pointer at the 8:29 mark.

Toledo finished the half strong, though, cutting its deficit to 37-30 by the break, but it was all Bobcats to start the second half. They scored the first 15 points to go up by 22.

The Rockets did not really make their move until the final nine minutes after a Campbell 3-pointer put Ohio up 72-53. A tip-in by Jordan Lauf capped a 9-0 run and cut the Bobcats’ lead to 10 with 6:45 to go, and after a Simmons jumper, Toledo scored 12 straight points in less than three minutes to tie the game with what was a 21-2 run overall.

Toledo did not come close to matching Ohio’s season-best 54.7 percent shooting that included a 14-of-27 clip from the outside. It made just 40.6 percent of its attempts, but got to the line more, going 17 of 22, compared to the Bobcats at 9 of 15. It also got more chances with an advantage in offensive rebounds, 10-3, and turnovers, 13-7.

Boothe finished with 12 boards, and Williams had five assists. Sanford and Lauf had nine points each.

Simmons’ assist total matched D.J. Cooper’s mark from Jan. 5, 2013 against Marshall.

Ohio hosts first-place Kent State at 9 p.m. Friday at The Convo in a game that will be broadcast on ESPNU.