Rockets Open MAC Play with 76-70 Road Win over Broncos

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Sophomore Sonny Wilson tallied 20 points and sophomore Sam Lewis registered his second straight double-double to propel the Toledo men’s basketball team to a 76-70 road win over Western Michigan in the Mid-American Conference opener for both squads. The victory improved Toledo’s overall record to 7-6 and was the Rockets’ 14^th straight victory over the Broncos (3-10).

“It’s great to get a road win to open our conference season,” Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. “Western Michigan is a tough place to play, and I was pleased with how we played down the stretch after taking the lead early in the second half.”

Wilson was efficient offensively by knocking down 7-of-11 shots in addition to grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out five assists in a season-high 37 minutes. Lewis tallied 14 points, 10 boards and a career-high three blocked shots. Ten of Lewis’ points came in the second half.

Senior Andre Lorentsson also scored in double digits with 10 points. Sophomore Bryce Ford, junior Seth Hubbard, and sophomore Javan Simmons finished with nine points apiece.

Toledo shot 39.1% from the field and limited the Broncos to a 34.2 shooting mark.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

Toledo took an early 7-4 lead on Bryce Ford’s three-pointer.

Seth Hubbard’s triple put the Rockets ahead 21-17, but WMU rallied to even the score at 21-21 just over eight minutes before halftime.

Sonny Wilson’s three-pointer capped off a 12-2 spurt that gave Toledo a 33-23 advantage at the 3:11 mark.

The Broncos closed out the half with a 10-2 run to reduce the Rockets’ lead to 35-33.

Wilson led Toledo in the first half with a game-high 11 points and four assists.

SECOND HALF

WMU knotted the score at 40-40 at the first media timeout, but a Javan Simmons’ layup and three points from Sam Lewis gave UT the lead for good.

Back-to-back baskets from Wilson and Lewis increased Toledo’s margin to 56-47 and forced the Broncos to take a timeout with 8:44 remaining.

WMU trimmed its deficit to six, but Andre Lorentsson’s triple extended the Rockets’ cushion back to nine, 61-52, with 5:53 to play.

The Rockets knocked down 8-of-10 free throws in the final minute to close out the victory.

ROCKET ROUNDUP

Toledo is 63-13 (.829) in league play since the start of the 2020-21 season. The Rockets are 34-4 (.895) in MAC home games and 29-9 (.763) in MAC road games.

Sonny Wilson’s 20-point outing was his fourth of the season.

Javan Simmons’ nine rebounds were a season high.

Bryce Ford tallied nine points in his first collegiate start.

Toledo held WMU to a 34.2 FG%, the lowest by its NCAA Division I opponents this season.

The Rockets’ 28 three-point field-goal attempts were a season high.

Toledo knocked down 76.0% (19-of-25) of its free throws, its third-best mark this season.

UP NEXT
Toledo will play its first conference home game on Tuesday, Jan. 7 when it hosts Eastern Michigan (7-6, 1-0 MAC) in Savage Arena. Tip-off time for the contest is 7:00 p.m. with streaming on ESPN+.