Rocket’s fall to Central Michigan University, redeem themselves in win against rival Bowling Green Falcons

Rachel Nearhoof /IC

Justice Sunderland, Staff Reporter

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The University of Toledo men’s basketball team rallied from a 14-point deficit but ultimately fell short at Central Michigan on Saturday 96-88. Toledo is now 9-8 (2-2 MAC) on the season and CMU stands at 11-6 (1-3 MAC).
“We had some great looks. They hit a couple of tough shots and gained some confidence,” said head coach Tod Kowalczyk. “We had opportunities in the second half; I’m disappointed with the loss but happy with our heart.”
Fourth-year guard Jonathan Williams led UT as he recorded a career-high 30 points. Fellow fourth-year players Steve Taylor Jr. and Jordan Lauf pitched in with 20 and 13 points, respectively.
Taylor Jr. tallied 16 rebounds, marking his conference-best 13th double-double of the season. Second-year guard Jaelen Sanford added 18 points and six rebounds.

However, CMU controlled the rebounding department 44-37. The Chippewas were led by fourth-year guard Braylon Rayson with 28 points as third-year guard Marcus Keene added 20 points.
“It’s hard to win in this conference,” Kowalczyk said. “We didn’t make a couple shots in the first half and that hurt us, and I think there was some loose balls we should’ve gotten.”
CMU started the game off right on an 11-0 run, forcing an early timeout by the Rockets. After the timeout, UT responded as a Sanford jumper cut the lead to 17-16.
On the next possession, Rayson knocked a three-pointer, which sparked an 11-2 CMU run. Toledo couldn’t get anything going and called another timeout with just under four minutes remaining in the half, trailing 28-18.
The timeout didn’t do much for UT as their deficit grew to as big as 14. But Lauf converted an and-1 off a nice dime by Taylor Jr. to cut CMU’s halftime lead to 45-35.
Toledo made their move about four minutes into the second half with consecutive threes by Sanford, Lauf and Williams to cut the lead to four. UT continued to push forward, forcing a Chippewas timeout with 11:21 remaining.
Toledo’s offense was effective, but they couldn’t get enough stops on the defensive end to significantly cut into the lead.
“We wanted to make it hard on their guards. Keene scored 20, but he shot one of eight from three, so we made it hard on them, just not hard enough,” Kowalczyk said.
Sanford knocked down two free throws to cut the lead to 60-58, but that was the closest the Rockets got. First-year guard David DiLeo and Rayson knocked down back to back threes to put CMU up eight with 8:18 remaining.
Toledo cut it as close five on two separate occasions, but Central Michigan answered with big buckets every time to prevent UT from gaining any momentum on the road.
“They aren’t going to quit; the heart was there tonight,” Kowalczyk said about his team’s effort.
The Chippewas controlled the ball and the clock for the rest of the game, taking the game 96-88 and earning their first victory in the Mid-American Conference.
The midnight blue and gold return to the court Saturday, Jan. 21 as they travel to Kent to take on the Golden Flashes. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
The Rockets also defeated Bowling Green in the Battle of I-75 on Tuesday 85-73. UT controlled the entire game. The Falcons did make a run in the second half but Toledo shut the door.
UT’s offense was led by second-year forward Nate Navigato with 22 points on six three-pointers, five rebounds and seven assists. Fourth-year guard Jonathan Williams also added 20 points.
The Rockets controlled the game early building a lead as big as nine. BGSU battled back with about four minutes left in the first half. UT responded with explosive offense and took a 43-32 lead at halftime.
Toledo’s lead only grew in the second half. Things were under control until about the five minute mark when the Falcons attempted to make it a game cutting the lead to as low as nine but the Rockets continued to be effective offense and won their third game in MAC play.

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Rocket’s fall to Central Michigan University, redeem themselves in win against rival Bowling Green Falcons