SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The blue jerseys of the Santurce All-Stars might as well have been brown and orange.
For a while, Wednesday night’s game between the University of Toledo and Santurce had the atmosphere of a UT-Bowling Green contest, as tempers flared, fouls were a little harder, and the talking continued well after the whistle.
The scoreboard looked like the Rockets and Falcons, as well: Toledo 90, Santurce 69.
“I think defensively we were much better tonight,” UT coach Tod Kowalczyk said. “That team was pretty good. They were physical. They were a veteran team.”
After a feisty first half, everyone cooled down, traded laughs and smiles, and UT put the finishing touches on its wire-to-wire victory at Roberto Clemente Coliseum, the Rockets’ second of three games in Puerto Rico.
Tyler Cochran (nine rebounds, two assists) and Elijah Wilson scored a game-high 15 points, RayJ Dennis (six assists) and EJ Farmer had 12 points, and AJ Edu had 10 rebounds. Thirteen of Cochran’s 15 points came in the first half.
Toledo shot 41 percent from the field but made 15 of 29 3-point attempts. The Rockets turned up the defense and limited Santurce to 31 percent shooting.
UT led by as many as 32 in the second half.
“It’s honestly a blessing to be out here and play the game I love,” said Cochran, who previously played at Northern Illinois and Ball State. “I’m just trying to figure out my new teammates. This is my third time doing this. I’m trying to figure out what I am to this team. I’m trying to figure out how to be myself and how I can incorporate that into a winning program like Toledo.”
Toledo’s starting five of Cochran, Edu, Ra’Heim Moss, Dante Maddox, and Andre Lorentsson outscored Santurce 11-4 during the opening four minutes, 27 seconds. The score didn’t necessarily illustrate the sloppiness and uneven play. It was obvious that the quintet weren’t familiar with each other as a unit, which isn’t unexpected with three transfers and someone who has missed almost the entirety of the past two seasons.
The next group — Dennis, Wilson, Farmer, Kooper Jacobi, and Javan Simmons — provided noticeable energy and a spark at both ends of the court, using a 17-10 run to double up Santurce.
The Rockets led by 15 before Santurce cut it to eight with tight defense and transition baskets. But UT answered and led 50-35 at halftime.
Toledo shot 42.9 percent in the half, with 10 of their 15 buckets coming from behind the arc. Defensively, UT forced 11 turnovers and held Santurce to 27 percent shooting.
The first half was physical, leading to chippiness between the teams. Moss and Bryan Gonzalez exchanged words, and JT Shumate was ejected after getting in a skirmish.
“JT did me a favor. I didn’t want to play him tonight anyway,” Kowalczyk said, laughing. “Now he can’t get mad at me for not playing him. I’m not the bad guy. He’s the bad guy for getting kicked out.”
Perhaps the biggest highlight of the night was Javan Simmons’ LeBron James-esque chase-down block off the backboard. The 6-foot-7, 220-pound freshman, who was in high school less than three months ago, didn’t back down or look intimidated playing against bigger and older competition. Most of the Santurce team was in their mid-to-late 20s.
In his most extensive playing time in several years, Edu played 17 minutes. He had four points, 10 rebounds, one blocked shot, and moved confidently at both ends of the court. There wasn’t any hint of hesitation or favoring either of his injured knees.
Edu had a ferocious putback dunk on a missed basket that brought the Toledo bench off its feet and generated a roar from the two dozen Rockets supporters in attendance.
“I saw Tyler take the fadeaway and no one was boxing me out. All I was thinking was, ‘If this misses, I’m getting it,’” Edu said. “I just jumped up. It felt good. It felt like the old days. I was really happy to get that.”
First Published August 11, 2022, 2:02 a.m.
