AMHERST, N.Y. — The University of Toledo men’s basketball team overcame a 12-point second-half deficit to top Buffalo 71-69 on Tuesday at Alumni Arena.
Jonathan Williams scored five straight points to end the game, including a running layup with 1.4 seconds remaining that gave Toledo the victory.
The win was an important one for the Rockets (15-9, 6-5 Mid-American Conference), who made up ground on all of their West Division competitors. UT entered the night in fourth place in the West, but Central Michigan, Ball State, and Northern Illinois all lost Tuesday night, pulling UT into a three-way tie for first place in the division.
The victory was the Rockets’ third in a row.
“We didn’t play very well tonight, but good teams find ways to win on the road,” UT coach Tod Kowalczyk said.
Williams led the way with 15 points for UT, while Zach Garber had 13. Nathan Boothe scored 11 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for his fifth straight double-double.
Nate Navigato added 11 points for Toledo, and Stuckey Mosley had 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
For a time, the game looked as if it would not go Toledo’s way. Buffalo (14-10, 7-4) shot nearly 52 percent in the first half (14-for-27) and took a 37-28 lead into halftime.
The Bulls and Rockets traded baskets for much of the second half, with Buffalo leading by as much as 12 in the early portion of the period.
Buffalo’s Jarryn Skeete made a layup to go ahead 64-54 with 6:53 remaining in the game, though the Rockets created the game’s decisive run — a 17-4 spurt to end the game.
Williams and Navigato combined to score 11 points in the final four minutes. Williams’ steal and layup with 3:25 to go began the key rally.
The Rockets trailed by three when Buffalo took a timeout with 1:10 remaining. The Rockets earned a stop, with Williams grabbing the defensive rebound and tying the game with a 3-pointer on the other end with 39 seconds to play.
CJ Massinburg missed a layup for Buffalo, and Williams drove for the winning basket on the other end of the floor.
The Bulls had a chance to inbound the ball with 1.4 seconds remaining but turned over the ball to seal the Rockets’ victory.
UT shot 37 percent (23-for-62) and 23 percent from 3 (6-for-26) but out-rebounded the Bulls 41-30 and allowed only four points during the final six-plus minutes.
“Buffalo’s defensive pressure kept us from doing things that we normally do,” Kowalczyk said. “I don’t think we were as strong as we needed to be with the ball, but we came up with some big stops and rebounds in the last four minutes to give ourselves a chance.”
Toledo also shot 19-for-23 from the free-throw line.
Buffalo played without leading scorer Lamonte Bearden, whom Bulls coach Nate Oats suspended indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team. The point guard averaged 13.5 points in 21 games and also led in assists and steals.
Nick Perkins led the Bulls with 17 points against Toledo.
UT returns home to face Miami on Saturday.
Contact Nicholas Piotrowicz at: npiotrowicz@theblade.com, 724-6110, or on Twitter @NickPiotrowicz
First Published February 10, 2016, 5:50 a.m.
