Rockets Advance in Overtime Thriller Over Ohio, 90-85

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Sophomore Sam Lewis scored eight points in overtime, including a huge three-point play with 43 seconds left, to give the Toledo men’s basketball team a 90-85 victory over No. 5 seed Ohio in quarterfinal action of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Rocket Arena in Cleveland on Thursday.
 
Lewis broke an 83-83 tie with a short lean-in jumper and added a free throw to put the Rockets up 86-83. After Ohio made a two-pointer to cut the lead to one, junior Seth Hubbard made four free throws down the stretch to seal the win and put the Rockets into the semifinals vs. No. 1 seed Akron on Friday.
 
The game was a hard-fought contest throughout, with 16 ties and 16 lead changes. Toledo rallied from five points down late in regulation, sending it into overtime when sophomore Sonny Wilson split a pair of free throws with one second left.
 
Fifth-year senior Isaiah Adams led Toledo (18-14) with a season-high 26 points, two shy of his career high, before fouling out in regulation. Lewis added 21 points and four blocked shots. Wilson had 15 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.

Quoting Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk

“Heck of a game. I have a lot of respect for Ohio. I thought we played incredibly hard. In the first half we had some guys maybe force some things. In the second half, we had too many turnovers. I thought we got stagnant in our offense. But I’m proud of our win and we’re moving on.”

 

Quoting Isaiah Adams

“We continued to stay positive. That’s what we’ve been preaching ever since our last game when we won, when we played (Ohio) in the last game of the regular season. We were just trying to build on that, just playing great defense. That’s what we’ve been preaching all day in practice and all year. Just guard and stay in front of people. That’s what we’ve been preaching to make it a tough game.”

 

Quoting Sam Lewis

“Fighting and staying together as a collective. Our key word was ‘mucking it up.’ Make it a tough game, just being tough and having heart.”

Rocket Leaders

Team Stats
Toledo: 43.1 FG%, 35.7 3PTFG% (5-14), 82.9 FT% (29-35), 43 Reb., 8 Asst., 10 TO, 6 BL
Ohio: 46.4 FG%, 33.3 3PTFG% (5-15), 76.2 FT% (16-21), 37 Reb., 6 Asst., 11 TO
 
How it Happened

• Toledo went on an 14-4 run midway through the first half to grab a 27-19 lead. Ohio cut the margin to two points until Sonny Wilson’s drive with six seconds left gave the Rockets a 39-35 halftime lead. Toledo was aided by 12 points off the bench in the first 20 minutes, led by Seth Hubbard’s six.
• Toledo extended its lead to five points early in the second half before Ohio came back to tie the score 45-45 with 13:50 to play. After that, it was a back-and-forth game, with neither side leading by more than five points in regulation.
• The Rockets rallied from five points down late in the game, then sent it into overtime when Sonny Wilson split a pair of free throws with one second remaining.
• Sam Lewis knocked down a three-pointer, then made a three-point play with 43 seconds left to give Toledo an 86-83 lead.
• Seth Hubbard made 4-of-4 free throws in the waning seconds to seal the win.

Game Notes

• Toledo advances to the MAC Tournament semifinals for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
• Toledo has won nine straight and 14 of its last 15 meetings vs. Ohio.
• The Rockets’ last overtime game in the MAC Tournament was a 91-89 quarterfinal win over Ball State in 2021.
• Toledo is now 15-1 when leading at halftime and 3-14 when trailing with five minutes remaining.
• Javan Simmons registered his fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
• Sonny Wilson played a career-high 45 minutes and has played every minute in the last two games.
• Sam Lewis blocked a career-high four shots and tied his career best with three steals in a career-high 44 minutes.

Up Next
Toledo will play No. 1 seed Akron at 5:00 p.m. Friday. The game will carried on the CBS Sports Network.