A season that had an air of wizardry all winter crash landed on Wednesday.
Toledo was outmanned and outclassed by visiting Dayton 74-55 in the first round of the NIT, pulling the curtain on a 26-8 season that included a second consecutive outright Mid-American Conference championship, a school-record 17 MAC wins, and the Nassau Championship title.
But how the year ended will linger, especially the inexplicable free-throw shooting against Akron in the MAC semifinals. Wednesday’s result only added to the torment.
“In order to beat a team like this, you have to make some shots. And tonight we didn’t make shots. It’s as simple as that,” Toledo coach Tod Kowalczyk said. “Tonight was a make or miss game. If we make some shots, we’re right there.”
They didn’t.
The Rockets shot less than 35 percent and were just 4 of 23 from 3-point range. J.T. Shumate had a horrendous night that he’ll hope to soon forget, missing all 11 field goal attempts, including seven 3s, and finishing with zero points for the first time of his career.
“He just missed shots,” Kowalczyk said. “Sometimes that happens. He shot 50-something percent from 3 on the season.”
“On the season,” Kowalczyk added for emphasis.
Setric Millner, Jr., had a team-high 18 points, seven rebounds, and three steals. Ryan Rollins had 14 points on 6-of-21 shooting, and RayJ Dennis finished with 13 points.
“Looking at the box score, we got a lot of shots up,” Millner said. “Some of them didn’t fall, but you gotta give them credit. They played really hard. That’s a good team.”
Dayton was the first team out of the NCAA tournament, and on Wednesday, they looked every bit like a team that should be playing Thursday or Friday. The Flyers are long, athletic, and talented.
Without starting point guard Malachi Smith, who suffered an ankle injury in the Atlantic-10 tournament, Dayton shot better than 50 percent, using their size advantage for 52 points in the paint and a 42-34 rebounding advantage.
Six-foot-10 freshman center DaRon Holmes II, a top-50 recruit, scored a game-high 20 points.
“I knew they were good, and to be honest with you, they’re better in person than they were on film,” Kowalczyk said. “They’re physical. They’re long. Every time they needed a bucket, they got a big 3.”
The NIT often comes down to effort. A majority of teams are disappointed after missing out on the NCAA tournament, creating an opening for wins by outworking the opponent. Kowalczyk quickly shut down any notion that Toledo wasn’t prepared or mentally ready for the Flyers.
The Rockets only had seven turnovers, they forced six steals, and had a 12-8 offensive rebounding advantage, all evidence of a team that gave maximum effort.
“One hundred percent,” Kowalczyk said. “We played hard. Never, never, never, never, never in question. Not even close.”
In the couple days leading up to the game, Dayton coach Anthony Grant made sure his team was aware of exactly what they faced, taking 26-win Toledo seriously.
“You’ve got to give Toledo credit. They had a great year,” Grant said. “I thought our guys understood the challenge today coming on the road and playing a good team. We understood they’ve been really, really good offensively. I thought our guys did a good job of taking away some things that they really had success with and were able to get out in transition.”
The Rockets trailed by double digits at halftime for just the third time all season, as Dayton led 34-23 after UT was a woeful 10-of-31 shooting. Both teams had stretches of anemic offense during the first half, but a 2 for 12 spell for Toledo coincided with a run by Dayton that put the Flyers up 19-10.
UT was forced to play catch up the rest of the way. The closest it got in the second half was nine when Rollins made the opening shot. The Rockets trailed by double digits for the final 19:06.
“I gotta be honest with you, I wasn’t disappointed with how we moved the ball,” Kowalczyk said. “I wasn’t disappointed with our shot selection.”
With 1:12 left, Kowalczyk pulled the starting five out of the game, the same five players who started every game of the season — Rollins, Shumate, Millner, Dennis, and Ra’Heim Moss. The crowd understood the moment and the players were greeted to a standing ovation that lasted several seconds.
Off they went, but not too far. Millner said they’ll only take a few days off before returning to the gym, eager to get started on the 2022-23 season, ready to attack unfinished business.
“Twenty-six wins. Regular season outright champs back-to-back years for the first time in school history. That’s a hell of a season for the Rockets,” Kowalczyk said. “I’m very, very proud of our players and our program. There’s a lot of bright days ahead.”
First Published March 17, 2022, 2:02 a.m.
