Toledo men end losing streak with 71-67 victory over rival Falcons

The University of Toledo men’s basketball team continues to get the better of their I-75 rivals.

UT (11-8, 3-3 MAC) defeated Bowling Green State University 71-67 Saturday night at Savage Arena. The Rockets’ fourth straight victory over the Falcons (12-5, 4-2 MAC) also snapped a two-game losing streak for Toledo.

“We know it’s not just another game,” said senior guard Juice Brown. “We see the packed crowd. Our back was against the wall coming into this game, we were 2-3 in MAC play.

“We know we’re not that, but I guess you are what your record is. We just wanted to get back to playing Rocket basketball and I think we took a step forward in that way tonight.”

It didn’t take long for the ‘Battle of I-75’ to turn into a shootout.

The 7,392 fans packed around Bob Nichols Court – the arena’s largest crowd since its renovation in 2008 – saw 14 lead changes in the first half alone.

Toledo’s offense in the first half came mostly from Juice. The Rockets’ point guard scored 12 points before halftime, going 2-of-3 from three-point land over that span.

When Falcons senior guard Anthony Henderson converted a Juice turnover into a dunk, the Illinois native responded with his second trey of the night to give the Rockets a 7-6 lead with 17:28 to play in the first half.

Juice finished the night with a game-high 28 points. He was joined in double figures by senior guard Justin Drummond and junior center Nathan Boothe, who finished with 18 points and 12 points, respectively.

For Boothe in particular, Saturday night was a chance to rebound. In Toledo’s overtime loss to Western Michigan, he fouled out with just over a minute left in regulation and having scored only one basket.

“Nathan Boothe is a huge key to our success,” said UT head coach Tod Kowalczyk. “He had a bad game against Western Michigan, didn’t play well against Central Michigan, but prior to that I really have to be honest with you I’ve been really happy with Nathan Boothe.

“He is a great facilitator. Our offense goes through him. I will go to war with that guy and battle with that guy every single time. I love him to death.”

With 14 minutes left to play in the first half, the Rockets and Falcons had already exchanged the lead six times. Freshman guard Stuckey Mosley gave UT a 17-16 lead with 11:19 left before halftime by nailing two baskets in a row, including one from the three-point line.

Senior guard Jehvon Clarke nailed a trey to put the Falcons back on top, but Boothe drew the teams even with a jumper. Drummond then gave the Rockets a 21-19 edge with a layup.

Henderson sank a trey from the corner to give the Falcons a 28-27 lead with 5:16 left before halftime. With the Rockets in a scoring draught, BG sophomore guard Zack Denny padded the Falcons’ edge. Juice responded with a jumper from the corner.

“A couple of the games [we lost] we didn’t close out the game the way we wanted to,” Juice said. “We just didn’t want to do that again. We wanted to overcome that. We just stuck together and tonight was the outcome.”

Drummond gave the Rockets a 31-30 advantage with a jumper of his own, but the Falcons earned another lead from the charity stripe.

The Falcons’ took a 34-32 edge into the locker room, but it didn’t last long after halftime. Drummond drew the teams even with a jumper, Boothe gave UT a 36-34 advantage from the charity stripe and sophomore guard Jon Jon Williams padded the lead.

Juice put the Rockets up 41-36 with his first trey of the second half and Drummond then added another jumper, giving UT a 43-38 lead with 16 minutes to play.

After Denny gave the Falcons a 50-49 lead off a trey with 10:32 to play, Toledo went on an 8-0 run to retake control of the contest.

Later, with Bowling Green within one, Drummond gave UT breathing room with a layup. The visitors never came that close to a lead again.

“I’m just really proud of our guys tonight, I thought they stayed together,” Kowalczyk said. “Let’s face it: we’ve had some difficult losses lately. We’ve been right there, tonight we stayed with it and finished the job.

“It’s good to see.”

Toledo will return to Savage Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 27, to host the University of Miami. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.