Toledo’s efficient offense and transition opportunities off numerous Bowling Green State University miscues helped the Rockets earn a rivalry win on Saturday.
Toledo shot 53 percent from the floor, had five players in double figures, and converted 15 BGSU turnovers into 18 points as the Rockets posted a 91-77 victory in a Mid-American Conference men’s basketball game at an electric Savage Arena.
“It was a great win. Obviously, with this rivalry and this game, it means more,” Toledo junior guard RayJ Dennis said. “It just does, that’s what it is.
“We came out and guarded. They hit some tough shots early, but we came and guarded pretty much the whole 40 minutes tonight. It showed.”
The Rockets earned their fifth straight win to improve to 15-6 (6-2 MAC), while the Falcons (10-11, 4-4 MAC) had their two-game winning streak snapped.
Dennis had 21 points, six assists, and five rebounds, while Setric Millner, Jr., also had 21 points with a team-high seven boards. Sophomore guard E.J. Farmer had a career-high 15 points off the bench with five rebounds for the Rockets.
J.T. Shumate had 14 points, six assists, and three steals, while Dante Maddox, Jr., had 11 points.
Toledo made 35 of 66 shots, including a blistering 28 of 39 (72 percent) from inside the arc, and sank 77.8 percent (14-of-18) of its free throws.
The Rockets committed just five turnovers.
“This team trusts each other,” Toledo coach Tod Kowalczyk said. “When we make the extra pass and one more pass, a lot of offensive weapons are hard to guard.”
Toledo’s finish to the first half and start of the second put the Rockets in control.
Toledo and BGSU played to nine ties in the opening 13 minutes, but an 8-0 Rockets run in the final two minutes gave them a 41-31 lead at the break. Dennis had six points during the run, including a layup with three seconds left to give Toledo its biggest lead of the game.
The Rockets extended their lead to 54-36 with 16:49 left in the game. Shumate scored in the post, and Maddox had a score off a turnover and two free throws to cap a 29-11 Toledo run.
“It definitely was a tough five-minute stretch,” BGSU coach Michael Huger said. “They finished strong in the [first] half. I think our turnovers initiated their fast break.
“Got to do a better job of taking care of the ball, and that’s the biggest thing right there: 15 turnovers to a team that doesn’t pressure or anything else. It tells you right there on how we didn’t take care of the ball.”
BGSU fell behind 68-48 with 11:41 left, but pulled within 76-68 with 6:12 remaining after Samari Curtis found Rashaun Agee for a basket in the paint. Agee’s dunk made it 79-70 Toledo a minute later.
The Rockets responded as Farmer hit two free throws, Maddox drained a 3-pointer, and Millner converted a 3-point play after corralling a loose ball.
Farmer’s one-handed putback dunk with 44 seconds left when he soared past several players put an exclamation point on a strong game offensively for the Rockets.
“It was a great experience,” Farmer said. “They were telling us all week the game was going to be sold out, and we had a great scouting report. So we came ready to go.
“I knew I had to step up once Ra’Heim [Moss] got in foul trouble. ... But I’m always going to be ready to go.”
BGSU wasn’t fazed by the intense atmosphere of nearly 7,000 people in attendance. The Falcons led 9-3 after Sam Towns, who missed the previous four games with an upper body injury, knocked down a jumper.
“We’re not afraid of the environment, we knew where we were going and what type of environment it was going to be,” Huger said. “They had a really nice crowd, a nice environment, great one for basketball. I thought my guys stepped up to the challenge early but, once again, 15 turnovers.”
Leon Ayers III had team highs of 21 points and six assists, and he also pulled down six rebounds for BGSU. The Duquesne transfer, who also played one season at Mercer, eclipsed 1,000 career points at the Division I level early in the game when he scored on a drive to the hoop with 13:57 left.
Agee scored 14 off the bench, including five emphatic dunks. Four of them came in a three-minute stretch midway through the first half.
Curtis also had 14 points off the bench, while Chandler Turner had a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.
BGSU shot a solid 50.8 percent (30-of-59) from the floor and 80 percent (12-of-15) from the free-throw line.
The turnovers were the difference. Toledo had an 18-6 advantage in points off turnovers.
“I think the game was based on just a few basic mistakes we made on our part,” Turner said. “We beat ourselves more than they beat us, and we understand that.
“It’s just time to go back and regroup, get ready for the next game.”
First Published January 28, 2023, 11:16 p.m.
