DETROIT — In a game that was becoming increasingly tough as it went on, the University of Toledo men's basketball team turned to its star players and let them take over.
During a key stretch midway through the second half, Toledo senior center Luke Knapke and junior point guard Marreon Jackson combined to make five 3-pointers in a row as the Rockets got some much needed separation in what was eventually an 80-72 win over Detroit Mercy on Saturday at Calihan Hall.
Knapke made three from deep, while Marreon Jackson added two as Toledo turned the game around from a 58-53 deficit with 10:26 left to a 68-60 lead with 7:24 remaining.
“When it starts to get down to it, you try to get your best players good shots in their spots,” Toledo junior guard Spencer Littleson said. “We knew we had to go to Luke Knapke and he started hitting those 3's. We had to get him and Marreon into their two-man game. That was just our goal and that really worked out for us.”
After a Brad Calipari 3-pointer with 2:28 left, Detroit Mercy cut the Toledo lead to 72-68, but Toledo got two points from Knapke on a lefty hook shot in the lane. The Rockets then got a key steal on the next Titans possession, and Marreon Jackson hit free throws down the stretch to put the game away.
“The second half we settled in and we stayed positive with each other,” Toledo coach Tod Kowalczyk said. “When we move the ball we are good. We moved the ball and made some shots. I think that was the key to that stretch, but particularly our defense. We got some stops and we got some rebounds and we cleaned it up. We got out in transition and then we executed on some key plays.”
Knapke and Littleson led Toledo (8-2) with 21 points each, while Marreon Jackson added 16 points. Willie Jackson notched another double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds.
Detroit Mercy was without its star player Antoine Davis, who missed the game with an illness. Davis is averaging 24.1 points per game in nine games this season.
The Titans (1-9) got a big contribution from Calipari who made five 3's on his way to 20 points. Willy Isiani added 11 points and former Toledo player Dwayne Rose Jr. chipped in with 10 points.
“Any time you play against a team that has their best player out, for whatever reason, their team always rises to the occasion,” Kowalczyk said. “I thought Detroit, watching them on film, this is the best they played all year. They were unselfish, they moved the ball, and they had some guys that aren't usually good shooters hit shots. We got a little bit rattled on the defensive end tonight which affected us on offense.”
Toledo trailed by as many as eight points in the first half as the opening 20 minutes featured two ties and five lead changes. The Titans made eight 3-pointers in the opening half led by three from Isiani.
The Rockets trailed 36-33 at halftime and did not lead in the second half until the spurt midway through the half that was aided by a good defensive effort by Toledo to go along with the hot shooting.
“We had to grind out stops,” Littleson said. “They are a really good offensive rebounding team and they got some second-chance buckets. In that stretch, we did a really good job limiting it and that definitely helped our run there.”
Littleson and Kowalczyk both said this is a good win to mimic what it will potentially be like trying to get road victories in Mid-American Conference games.
“They are a good team,” Littleson said. “With Davis out, they had a lot of guys step up. We didn't play the best we could have. But it was a hard-fought win and it was a good road win. It's always good to win when you don't play your best. Especially when it's a grind-out win, because that's what MAC play is going to be like. So this was a good win for us.”
First Published December 15, 2019, 12:04 a.m.
