Sanford wins it at the buzzer on the road

Freshman guard Jaelan Sanford nailed the game winning three pointer at the buzzer to give Toledo men’s basketball team a 71-69 win at Green Bay on Saturday.

The three-pointer was the only basket of the game for the freshman and capped off a six point deficit with 2:30 remaining in the half.

The Rockets (6-2) were led by senior center Nathan Boothe and junior guard Jonathan Williams with 27 and 26 points, respectively. The two combined for 74 percent of UT’s points. Boothe also grabbed a team-high nine boards and blocked a season-best three shots.

Senior forward Jordan Fouse led a trio of Phoenix players in double-digits with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Carrington Love and Turner Botz contributed 11 and 10 points, respectfully.

UT got off to a hot start shooting 55 percent from the field in the first half, and was a perfect three-for-three from beyond the arch.

After trading buckets for most of the first half, Toledo went on a 9-0 run to jump out to their largest lead of the game, 35-26 with 5:26 remaining in the half.

Green Bay responded with a run of their own to tie things up at 41-41 with just under a minute to play. Freshman Nick Rogers hit a pair of free throws to give UT a two-point lead heading into the break.

Toledo came out of the half still firing on all cylinders with a 10-2 run and jumping out to a 51-43 lead with 15:36 left in the game.

The Rockets would cool off and shot just 37 percent from the field in the second half and struggling from beyond the arch hitting just three of 13 attempts.

The Phoenix answered the run with 12 unanswered point of their own for a 53-51 lead with just under 12 minutes to play.

From there, nether team led by more than three points until Fouse nailed a trey for a 66-62 advantage with 4:26 left in the game.

Down four with just under two minutes to go Boothe nailed a jumper and was fouled to convert the three-point play to cut the Green Bay lead to 69-68.

After a missed three point attempt by the Phoenix Williams grabbed the rebound and took it the length of the floor for a contested layup.

Junior forward Jordan Lauf kept the possession alive with an offensive rebound. He threw the ball out to sophomore guard Stuckey Mosley on the perimeter who then fed Sanford for the game-winner.

The Rockets will return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 9 to take on another Horizon League opponent when they travel to Detroit. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.