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UT falls short in comeback

Toledo erases a 22 point second half deficit in a 81-79 thriller against OU

Rachel Nearhoof

(Left to right) Senior center Nathan Boothe (53) and junior guard Jonathan Williams (1) go to the basket against Ohio. Williams and Boothe both finished with 21 points in UT’s 81-79 home loss.

Marcus Dodson, Sports Editor

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The University of Toledo men’s basketball came up short against Ohio in an 81-79 thriller in Savage Arena.

“I think we got what we deserved,” said head coach Todd Kowalczyk. “We didn’t deserve to win this game.”

The Rockets (12-8, 3-4 MAC) trailed the Bobcats (12-7, 3-4 MAC) by as many as 22 points in the second half before tying the score at 74 with under three minutes to play. UT led for only 25 seconds in the entire game when the score was 4-2 with 19:02 on the clock in the first half.

The Rockets were led by Senior Nathan Boothe and Williams with 21 points apiece. Boothe also grabbed 12 rebounds en route to his eighth double-double of the season.

Joining the two in double figures was Navigato with 10 points and 5 boards.

OU was led by junior Kenny Kaminski with a game-high 22 points. Sophomore Jaaron Simmons contributed 12 points with 17 assists, playing all 40 minutes.

Ohio got on the board first with a jumper by Kaminski. He went on to account for eight of OU’s first 10 points.

The Bobcats jumped out to a 15-4 lead in the opening five minutes of the game with the UT offense looking lost and confused in the process.

Boothe ended the 13-0 run with a turn-around jumper, also ending a UT scoring drought of nearly four minutes.

However, that would not be enough to slow down the Ohio attack. The Bobcats continued to extend their lead, jumping out to a 29-9 advantage with roughly 10 minutes remaining.

Toledo stepped up their defensive pressure and held OU to 2 of 9 for the last eight minutes in the half.

Boothe’s hook shot cut the lead to 12 with 4:43 remaining in the half.

UT trailed by just 7 points going into the break after being down 21 with 8:29 remaining in the half.

OU got the second half going with back-to-back-to-back threes to extend the lead to 47-30, forcing Kowalczyk to call a timeout.

During the timeout, Kowalczyk had some choice words for the refs and got a technical foul called on him.

OU kept putting on the pressure and extended their lead to 22 just five minutes into the half.

With the Bobcats still up 20 with just over 11 to go, the game seemed out of reach.

Then UT turned up the intensity and went on a 16-2 run. Williams got things going with 7 quick points to cut the OU lead to 74-69 with 4:24 remaining in the game.

After a Bobcat timeout, Sanford found Boothe at the top of the key for a three, cutting the lead to two as the crowd roared.

Williams tied things up at 74 after a pair of free throws with under four minutes left to play, but that would be the closest the Rockets would get to taking the lead.

Toledo will have a chance to end their two-game losing streak when they host 8-8 Buffalo on Saturday, Jan. 30 in Savage Arena. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.

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Serving the University of Toledo community since 1919.
UT falls short in comeback