Feb. 13, 2008

Box Score |  Notes

ATHENS, Ohio-The Toledo men's basketball squad placed four players in double-figures in a balanced attack as the Rockets defeated Ohio 54-52 Wednesday evening in Savage Hall. Toledo improved to 8-15 overall and 5-6 in the Mid-American Conference, while Ohio dropped to 16-8 and 7-4 in the league.

Toledo coach Stan Joplin picked up his 200^th career win with the victory.

Tyrone Kent and Jerrah Young led Toledo with 13 points apiece, while Jonathan Amos had 11 and Ridley Johnson had 10. Amos also had a decent floor game with eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Senior guard Bubba Walther (Cincinnati, Ohio) led Ohio with 15 points off the bench, while senior forward Leon Williams (Baltimore, Md.) had eight rebounds. Junior guard Michael Allen (Detroit, Mich.) had a team-high five assists, while junior guard Allen Hester (Oakland, Ca.) had a game-high four steals.

Overall, the Rockets had 33 rebounds to just 26 for the Bobcats. Toledo held a significant edge in offensive boards (11-2) and free throws (19-32 to 9-12). The two squads struggled with ball-handling all night as they combined for 45 turnovers (24 Ohio, 21 Toledo). The Rockets' edge at the charity stripe made up for a lackluster evening from the 3-point arc (3-20, 15 percent).

The Bobcats were hounded by fouls throughout the game as Williams and sophomore center Kenneth van Kempen (Weert, Netherlands) fouled out before the 2:00 mark of the second half. Allen and junior forward Jerome Tillman (Beavercreek, Ohio) also finished with four.

Things started well for the Bobcats as they took their first lead of the contest (6-4) on a jumper by junior forward Justin Orr (Cincinnati, Ohio) less than four minutes into the contest. Ohio slowly grew the lead out to its largest margin of 12 by halftime (28-16).

The Rockets clawed back into the contest after that, buoyed by a 4-14 edge in fouls and a 19-4 edge in free throw attempts for the second half.

After Walther nailed a 3-pointer with 1:13 to go to give Ohio a 50-48 lead, junior guard Bert Whittington (Hankamer, Tx.) converted a layup with 41 seconds to go up by four.

Kent and Amos then dropped in a pair of baskets to pull the Rockets even at 52 with 26 seconds left and Toledo regained possession after another Ohio turnover. Kent then hit the game-winning free throws with eight seconds left after the Bobcats were whistled for another foul. The Bobcats missed a game-winning 3-point attempt with four seconds left and the Rockets escaped with the victory.

"This is a very tough loss, there's no question about it," said Ohio head coach Tim O'Shea. "We did make some plays down the stretch and were right there at the end, but they've been very good at home."

The Bobcats will travel to Kent State (20-5 overall, 9-2 MAC) Saturday for a 3 p.m. contest.