Toledo men defeat Eastern Michigan 77-66 in regular season finale

During the senior ceremony that followed the Toledo men’s basketball team’s 77-66 win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday, head coach Tod Kowalczyk pointed the almost 6000 fans that surrounded him towards Cleveland, asking for a Toledo crowd to pack Quicken Loans Arena for next weekend’s Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinals.

For Kowalczyk and two of his seniors in particular -Rian Pearson and Matt Smith- Cleveland means a chance to complete a journey started together nearly four years ago, when the trio arrived here from Wisconsin tasked with rebuilding a once-proud basketball program.

“First of all, I am so thankful that we have had this opportunity to come to Toledo,” Kowalczyk said. “Not just myself and my family, but also Rian Pearson and Matt Smith. It didn’t take us long being here to figure out and know that it was the right move we made, all of us, even though we had a lot of pains along the way.”

Toledo’s defeat of EMU marks the 26th win for the Rockets, and also a perfect 15-0 record inside Savage Arena this season.

The victory -which also happened to be the 200th win of Kowalczyk’s career- ensured Toledo a share of the eighth MAC regular season title in program history.

“There were so many things to play for tonight,” Kowalczyk said. “I thought our energy, I thought our toughness, and I thought our togetherness were maybe the best they’ve been all year.

“[Eastern Michigan is] a frustrating team to play, as we all know. Their zones are so good, and I thought we held our composure during the first half when we had a hard time scoring and ended up having a great offensive game by the end.”

Pearson’s offensive game was strong from start to finish. The senior guard started his final game in Savage by scoring Toledo’s first seven points, and he finished with 17 points, and 12 rebounds for a double-double.

“I was excited to come in,” Pearson said. “It’s senior night, my mom is in town, and to win the championship, I was very excited.”

Junior guard Justin Drummond, who tallied 22 points, a career-high seven assists, and five rebounds against EMU, said Pearson’s energy was what inspired the entire team to rebound after a slow start.

Toledo struggled against Eastern Michigan’s infamous zone defense early on, not gaining a lead against the Eagles until junior guard Juice Brown was able to put UT up 9-8 with a jumper at the 14:48 mark in the first half.

“R.P.’s a player that just brings a lot of energy,” Drummond said. “That just feeds right through our team. When we see him pick it up, the rest of the guys, it’s like a current through the team and we start playing well.”

Drummond scored all of his points in a second half that never saw an Eagle’s lead.

“I wasn’t too happy with my play in the first half, especially defensively,” he said. “I just used that mindset to come out in the second half and just perform. I knew my teammates would need me down the stretch to win this game, so I brought it during the second half.”

Four Rockets finished with double digit scoring totals Saturday. Junior forward Karrington Ward led Eastern Michigan offensively with 20 points, but it was not enough to counter Toledo’s second-half scoring attack that posted its best three-point shooting mark of the conference campaign.

“To beat a zone like that you have to knock down threes,” Pearson said. “That is one thing we didn’t do the first time [we faced EMU], so I’m glad everybody came in focused and did what we had to do. If you make shots, we can beat a team with a zone like that.”

Toledo will now look ahead to Friday, March 14, when the Rockets will face a yet-to-be-determined opponent in the MAC Tournament Semifinals at Quicken Loans Arena. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m.

“I am excited,” Pearson said. “When I was a sophomore, Quicken Loans down at Cleveland was a lot of fun, so I am ready to go back there and share the experience with my teammates and the players that haven’t been there.

“I am really excited to get on the floor and play.”