MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Toledo tied its season high with 14 three-point field goals and ran its winning streak to three on Saturday evening with a wire-to-wire 93-82 road triumph over Central Michigan (12-5, 1-3 MAC) in McGuirk Arena.
The victory keeps . . .
The victory keeps . . .
. . . the Rockets (11-6, 3-1 MAC) in a first-place tie with Western Michigan (11-6, 3-1 MAC) in the Mid-American Conference's West Division.
"It's big to go on the road and get a win," said head coach Tod Kowalczyk after UT won for the fourth time in its last five games away from Savage Arena. "We played hard and showed patience in getting good shots. When you play a team like Central, you are going to get your opportunities because of their press and zone."
The trio of senior guard Tre'Shaun Fletcher (22 pts.), junior guard Jaelan Sanford (21 pts.) and junior forward Nate Navigato (18 pts.) paced the Rockets' attack, with Sanford becoming the 45th Rocket to score 1,000 career points. Sophomore forward Willie Jackson was also a double-digit scorer with 11 and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to help UT post its sixth win in its last seven outings.
Junior guard Shawn Roundtree topped the Chippewas offensively with a game-high 29 points. Senior forward Cecil Williams and Kevin McKay each knocked down 14 points, while David DiLeo added 10.
Each team posted nearly identical shooting marks as Toledo registered a 47.4 field-goal percentage, with CMU just a shade lower at a 47.3 clip. UT was markedly better from behind the three-point arc, though, knocking down 14-of-32 attempts (43.8 percent) compared to the Chippewas' 7-of-19 totals (36.6 percent).
The Rockets also held a slight edge at the charity stripe over CMU, who entered the contest as the nation's top free throw shooting team at 81.8 percent. UT converted 25-of-32 attempts (78.1 percent), while the Chippewas hit 23-of-31 free throws (74.2 percent).
Toledo jumped on the hosts quickly and led 19-4 with 15:39 remaining in the first half. Two treys apiece from Fletcher and Navigato, and another from freshman guard Marreon Jackson, keyed the quick start and propelled the Rockets to a 45-39 halftime advantage.
CMU quickly cut Toledo's lead to two early in the second stanza, but Fletcher responded with a three-point play and junior forward Taylor Adway slammed one home for a 50-43 lead with 17:56 to play.
The Chippewas kept putting the pressure on and cut their deficit to 52-51 on a DiLeo layup just over two minutes later.
Back-to-back threes from Navigato and Sanford gave Toledo some breathing room with a 60-53 cushion at 14:11. Sanford followed with another three-pointer to increase UT's margin to 11, 68-57, and forced the Chippewas to take a timeout at the 11:41 mark
CMU was able to reduce the Rockets' lead to five points, 83-78, with 1:46 to play after junior guard Gavin Peppers hit one of two free throws. Navigato came through on UT's next possession, though, and buried his fifth and final trey of the game with 1:18 remaining. The Rockets then hit seven of eight free throws in the final minute to secure the victory.
Toledo will play at Ohio (8-8, 1-3 MAC) on Tuesday before returning home to face defending MAC champion Kent State (8-9, 2-2 MAC) on Saturday, Jan. 20.
Central Michigan, which has dropped three straight will be at Ball State Tuesday (7 p.m. ET), followed by another road tilt at Bowling Green Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET).
(Courtesy of UT Athletics)
"It's big to go on the road and get a win," said head coach Tod Kowalczyk after UT won for the fourth time in its last five games away from Savage Arena. "We played hard and showed patience in getting good shots. When you play a team like Central, you are going to get your opportunities because of their press and zone."
The trio of senior guard Tre'Shaun Fletcher (22 pts.), junior guard Jaelan Sanford (21 pts.) and junior forward Nate Navigato (18 pts.) paced the Rockets' attack, with Sanford becoming the 45th Rocket to score 1,000 career points. Sophomore forward Willie Jackson was also a double-digit scorer with 11 and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to help UT post its sixth win in its last seven outings.
Junior guard Shawn Roundtree topped the Chippewas offensively with a game-high 29 points. Senior forward Cecil Williams and Kevin McKay each knocked down 14 points, while David DiLeo added 10.
Each team posted nearly identical shooting marks as Toledo registered a 47.4 field-goal percentage, with CMU just a shade lower at a 47.3 clip. UT was markedly better from behind the three-point arc, though, knocking down 14-of-32 attempts (43.8 percent) compared to the Chippewas' 7-of-19 totals (36.6 percent).
The Rockets also held a slight edge at the charity stripe over CMU, who entered the contest as the nation's top free throw shooting team at 81.8 percent. UT converted 25-of-32 attempts (78.1 percent), while the Chippewas hit 23-of-31 free throws (74.2 percent).
Toledo jumped on the hosts quickly and led 19-4 with 15:39 remaining in the first half. Two treys apiece from Fletcher and Navigato, and another from freshman guard Marreon Jackson, keyed the quick start and propelled the Rockets to a 45-39 halftime advantage.
CMU quickly cut Toledo's lead to two early in the second stanza, but Fletcher responded with a three-point play and junior forward Taylor Adway slammed one home for a 50-43 lead with 17:56 to play.
The Chippewas kept putting the pressure on and cut their deficit to 52-51 on a DiLeo layup just over two minutes later.
Back-to-back threes from Navigato and Sanford gave Toledo some breathing room with a 60-53 cushion at 14:11. Sanford followed with another three-pointer to increase UT's margin to 11, 68-57, and forced the Chippewas to take a timeout at the 11:41 mark
CMU was able to reduce the Rockets' lead to five points, 83-78, with 1:46 to play after junior guard Gavin Peppers hit one of two free throws. Navigato came through on UT's next possession, though, and buried his fifth and final trey of the game with 1:18 remaining. The Rockets then hit seven of eight free throws in the final minute to secure the victory.
Toledo will play at Ohio (8-8, 1-3 MAC) on Tuesday before returning home to face defending MAC champion Kent State (8-9, 2-2 MAC) on Saturday, Jan. 20.
Central Michigan, which has dropped three straight will be at Ball State Tuesday (7 p.m. ET), followed by another road tilt at Bowling Green Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET).
(Courtesy of UT Athletics)
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