Boys drop to Green Bay in fourth overtime finish

The Toledo men’s basketball team played in their fourth overtime game of the season on Saturday as they fell to Green Bay 78-77. With the loss, the Rockets fall to 3-5 on the season.
Fourth-year forward Steve Taylor Jr. led the way for UT with his sixth double-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high five assists, along with help from fellow fourth-year guard Jon Jon Williams, who scored 20 points in 37 minutes.
Green Bay had four players in double figures, including fourth-year guard Charles Cooper, who led the way with 18 points. Toledo outrebounded the Phoenix 40-36 but committed three more turnovers.
UT held the lead for a majority of the first half. Williams helped them get out to a fast start with seven early points and an offensive rebound that resulted in a Taylor Jr. three-pointer. Green Bay cut the lead to just one with nine minutes left in the first half, but second-year forward Nick Navigato answered right back with a three ball. With four minutes left in the first half, Toledo found themselves ahead by nine after a couple of layups by Taylor Jr

Both teams went cold until the final minute of the half. The Phoenix scored the last four points of the half, including a layup with five seconds left to cut the halftime deficit to six, 36-30. Williams scored 12 points in the first half to set the pace for the Rockets as Taylor Jr. added nine points, five rebounds and three assists.
The teams traded buckets to begin the second half. With 14:28 left in the game, Green Bay cut the lead to 43-40 on a three by Kerem Kanter, the lowest it had been since halfway through the first half.
The Phoenix captured their first lead of the game (47-46) with 11 minutes remaining on a layup from Kanter. Both teams traded the lead until second-year guard Jaelen Sanford made a three-pointer put UT ahead 55-51.
The Phoenix responded with five straight points to take back a one-point lead until Williams knocked down a three to put UT ahead by two. Williams and Taylor Jr. took over down the stretch for the Rockets, scoring nine straight points.
Toledo found themselves up four with 1:30 remaining in the game. A turnover by Sanford led to a Green Bay layup. The Phoenix called a timeout with 13 seconds remaining. They rebounded the ball and Kanted hit another clutch shot with six seconds on the clock to tie the game at 66.
UT had one final chance, but the ball was stolen by Turner Botz.
Green Bay struck first in the overtime period, but it didn’t take long for UT to respond. With two minutes remaining, Sanford knocked down a triple to put Toledo ahead 74-72. On the next possession, Navigato committed a foul, sending Cooper to the line, where he made one and missed one so that the UT lead stayed at one.
A turnover by Taylor Jr. led to a layup by the Phoenix to take a 77-76 lead with just 44 seconds left. On the next possession, Cooper fouled Navigato, who split the free throws to tie things up.
Williams committed a foul that sent Green Bay to the free throw line for two shots with just six seconds remaining. Khalil Small hit the first and missed the second, but UT was out of timeouts and was unable to get a shot off to try and win the game, and they fell 78-77. The Rockets are now 1-3 in overtime games this season.
The midnight blue and gold remain home for their next game as they take on Detroit Mercy at Savage Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 7. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.