University of Toledo coach Tod Kowalczyk wanted junior guard Dylan Alderson to get to 30 points in the Rockets 100-41 rout of Northwestern Ohio on Saturday afternoon at Savage Arena.
Once Alderson reached his career-high of 30 points, Kowalczyk wasted no time bringing in walk-on Blake Williams, who made two free throws for his first career points.
“I told the team during the timeout with about six minutes left – when Dylan had 25 points – that no one shoots until Dylan gets his 30,” Kowalczyk said. “I said when he gets 30, Blake goes in. So Blake wasn't going in until Dylan got his 30. Luckily, he made that 3 from corner and gave Blake a chance to play the last 3:30 of the game and he got his first college points.”
Alderson, who had 10 of the team's first 13 points, said he was encouraged at the beginning of the game by point guard Marreon Jackson to hunt for his shot.
“It helps a lot,” Alderson said of the hot start. “Marreon was telling me they all wanted me to shoot the ball this game because I struggled against Notre Dame a little bit. They said just keep shooting, and they found me early and I was confident the rest of the game.”
Alderson was 12-for-19 from the field, including 6-for-12 from the 3-point line.
Kowalczyk said he is looking for consistency out of Alderson, but said it wasn't just his scoring that should boost his confidence.
“Time will tell, but I would like to think it gives him some confidence,” Kowalczyk said.
“With him, it's just about him being active. When he is active like he was at Marshall, he is good. When he's active like he was today, he's good. He had four offensive rebounds today. That type of stuff and getting to loose balls, those things are important to get somebody going.
“That's how you get confidence. You don't get confidence just because the ball goes in. You get confidence because you help your team win and you are productive on the floor.”
Willie Jackson had a double-double for Toledo (4-2) with 11 points and 12 rebounds, as did Marreon Jackson with 10 points and 10 assists. Luke Knapke had 10 points and eight rebounds.
The Rockets were happy for the quick turnaround after a gut-wrenching loss at Notre Dame on Thursday night.
“It was a lot of fun,” Alderson said. “We struggled against Notre Dame and it was good to just get our minds off of that game and play together and play with confidence and have fun. The day after Notre Dame it still stung when we woke up the next morning, but we had a chance to regroup and scout this team and get our minds right for it.”
The 59-point victory is the second-largest winning margin for Toledo in Savage Arena history as Toledo continued its strong work on the defensive end.
Northwestern Ohio shot just 28.6 percent from the field and 21.7 percent from the 3-point line. Nathan Lessing was the only player for the Racers in double figures with 16 points.
The Rockets forced 27 turnovers, and turned those into 41 points.
“The communication has been really good for us,” Alderson said. “When we talk and call out switches and ball screens, we're hard to score against. ... It's everything for us. Against Notre Dame, it was a low scoring game and if we didn't get the stops that we did, they would have beat us by even more.”
Toledo took advantage of a quick 10-0 start on Saturday and kept up the intensity the entire game.
“It's good morale for our guys and we were able to get some minutes for guys that don't normally play,” Kowalczyk said
“The two things I talked to the team about before the game was to respect the opponent. Anybody can come in and make shots and get in the game and get confidence, but we didn't allow that to happen. We respected our opponent and number two, we played with maturity. Once we got up 10 went to 12, then to 16, then to 18, then to 20, and then to 30. That's a mature group.”
First Published November 23, 2019, 10:45 p.m.
