GAME NOTES: The Toledo Rockets will host the Bucknell Bison as part of the Progressive Legends Classic on Monday night.

It has been tough sledding for Bucknell in the early stages of the 2014-15 season, as the team has won just a single game in four tries, with that lone victory coming by a 75-72 score in the opener against Marist. They have lost to Michigan (77-53), Villanova (72-65) and Mount Saint Mary's (73-69) in the three games since.

Toledo is hoping to stop a two-game slide in Monday's home game, as it suffered a 87-67 setback at VCU, followed by a 78-68 disappointment at Oregon. The Rockets did take care of Northern Arizona, 71-58, in a game which served as both the home and season opener.

This is the first ever meeting between these programs, and the winner will take on whichever team comes out victorious in the matchup between Maryland- Eastern Shore and Detroit from earlier in the day.

Bucknell connected on 54.3 percent of its shots from the floor against Mount Saint Mary's, but it didn't matter much in the end. The Bison were outscored from beyond the arc (15-9), off turnovers (19-8), and in second-chance points (15-4), all while suffering a 31-24 deficit on the boards. Chris Hass made 5- of-6 shots and finished with a game-high 17 points, and he grabbed four rebounds for the Bison in defeat.

Hass is netting an impressive 18.8 points per game on 53.8 percent shooting. He is easily leading the team in scoring, while serving as the only player on the roster logging more than 30 minutes per contest. The rest of the scoring production has been more spread out, with the Bison having no other double- digit scorers, while netting a lackluster 65.5 points per game on 45.4 percent shooting. Dom Hoffman (9 ppg) is the club's secondary scorer, while D.J. MacLeay (7.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg) and Nan Foulland (5.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg) are the top performers on the glass, Ryan Frazier (4 ppg, 2.2 apg) has been ice cold shooting the ball (.263), but he has started all four games.

Toledo hung with Oregon for a while but eventually ran out of gas. The Rockets trailed by only two points at halftime (36-34), after holding the Ducks to 36.4 percent shooting and sinking seven 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes. They were not so fortunate in the second half, shooting 34.3 percent overall, while being outscored by a 24-16 margin in the paint. Julius Brown finished with 19 points to pace the Rockets.

Although it has not led to more victories, Toledo is doing a good job of spreading the wealth in terms of scoring. Brown (15.3 ppg, 3.7 apg) does more than just put the ball in the basket, he is the team's top distributor as well. Nathan Boothe (13 ppg, 6 rpg, 1.7 bpg) is doing an excellent job scoring on the interior, as is J.D. Weatherspoon (10 ppg, 8 rpg, 1.3 bpg), while Justin Drummond (11.7 ppg) has labored his way through a 31.6 percent shooting performance.

Toledo can blame its slow start on the level of difficulty it has faced. Bucknell is not as challenging a squad and should have trouble against a Toledo team that is stronger than its record would lead you to believe.