Tod Kowalczyk emerged from the home tunnel at Savage Arena on Saturday with 3:03 showing on the pre-game clock.
He made a beeline for the Blue Crew on the other end of the court, supplying more juice to an already completely full student section. Tipoff between Toledo and Bowling Green was only a few minutes away, and Kowalczyk wanted to assure the Rockets had as rowdy an environment as possible.
After shaking hands with BGSU coach Michael Huger, Kowalczyk sat down on the Toledo bench, picked up a whiteboard, and immediately started jotting down plays.
The 13th-year UT coach has an intense personality, but he’s fond of laughter and has a quick wit.
Not on Saturday. At least not before the game.
Kowalczyk was all business, armed with a thousand-yard stare and the countenance of a Bond villain. Arms folded, he paced the length of the bench moments before tipoff to fist bump each player.
The Blade sat next to the Toledo bench on Saturday and documented the Battle of I-75 through the eyes of Kowalczyk.
20:00 — Toledo forward Setric Millner, Jr., wins the opening tip, improving his season-long record to 16-5. The Rockets, however, fail to score, as JT Shumate misses a shot from under the basket.
19:37 — “Get back! Get Back!” Kowalczyk screams at the Rockets. They do, but BG’s Kaden Metheny still hits a 3-pointer to begin the scoring.
18:31 — After nearly a minute and a half, Kowalczyk stands up for the first time to offer instructions on defense.
17:36 — Toledo guard RayJ Dennis is whistled for a foul under the basket. Kowalczyk disagrees and doesn’t hold back in sharing his displeasure with official Matt Morales.
Does it work? The next time down the court, a reach is called on BG’s Sam Towns, who’s guarding Dennis.
16:39 — The Rockets trail 9-3. After a Toledo basket, Kowalczyk encourages — or demands — Ra’heim Moss to play defense. Moss and Dante Maddox, Jr., respond by forcing an over-and-back. The next time down the court, Moss’ presence causes a travel.
It’s the beginning of a trend for the Falcons, who would finish with 15 turnovers.
13:37 — “Move, Dante!” Kowalczyk yells at Maddox. UT’s offense gets bogged, as the Rockets start the game 2 for their first 10. On this possession, Millner gets to the free-throw line.
Maddox looks in Kowalczyk’s direction and pats his chest and nods his head letting him know that it won’t happen again.
12:51 — The next time Toledo has the ball, Maddox uses an obscene crossover to lose his defender and follows through by swishing a mid-range jumper.
12:00 — “Hustle plays, Dre! Hustle plays!” Kowalczyk tells Andre Lorentsson. The Swede can shoot as well as any player on the team when he gets going, but defense is his weakness. BG is 5-of-10 shooting thus far, so Kowalczyk needs everyone to clamp down.
11:02 — Moss gets a steal and takes it all the way for a layup.
9:41 — Moss picks up his third foul. Kowalczyk is incredulous. “That’s my third foul?!” Moss asks, stunned. He doesn’t return to the game until the second half.
9:03 — EJ Farmer subs in for Moss and immediately makes a difference, scoring, getting a steal, and scoring again during a 28-second sequence.
5:30 — Farmer lets a 3 fly. It clangs off the rim and is corralled by BG. “That’s a feel-good shot!” Kowalczyk yells at Farmer, who knowingly nods his head.
In his post-game comments, Kowalczyk says Farmer has to improve his shot selection, though the backup guard played excellent on Saturday with a career-high 15 points and a plus/minus of plus-32, the highest on the team.
4:01 — Millner drills a 3 to give Toledo a 33-27 lead, its largest of the game.
“Boom!” UT athletic trainer Brian Jones shouts.
“Timeout,” Huger says.
The near-capacity crowd in Savage Arena erupts. Kowalczyk has a wide smile on his face during the timeout.
3:06 — “Our shot selection right now is not good,” Kowalczyk says to assistant coaches Jeff Massey, Justin Ingram, and Jordan Lauf. The Rockets are in the midst of a 5-for-7 stretch.
2:55 — Dennis is whistled for a foul that he disagrees with. Kowalczyk tells him it was a foul, which begins a comical back-and-forth between coach and player. Eventually, Dennis relents after Kowalczyk is adamant that the call was correct.
2:13 — “Get him off the court!” Kowalczyk, Jones, and UT’s assistants yell to the officials. Huger has pleaded his case for fouls multiple times during the first half, doing so well onto the playing surface. Toledo’s coaches aren’t thrilled and make it known.
51.6 — Kowalczyk runs down in the corner of the court and urges his team to play defense. BG misses a shot.
16.2 — Toledo calls a timeout and draws up a final play of the first half. It calls for Dennis to drive right and get the basket. He does exactly that, capping off an 8-0 run to end the first half.
As soon as the buzzer sounds, Kowalczyk begins walking to the locker room.
HALFTIME — Toledo 41, Bowling Green 31.
20:00 — Farmer scores eight points in the first half and he’s a team-high plus-16, so Kowalczyk opts to start him in the second half.
17:21 — Maddox has a perfect alley-oop opportunity with Millner, who motions for him to put the ball up. The plan goes awry, though, and Maddox ends up with a bucket. BG calls a timeout, and Millner gives Maddox a mischievous smile. Maddox can do nothing but laugh.
15:53 — “That’s a foul,” Kowalczyk says to Morales. Farmer had gone up for a rebound and was hit in the head. Kowalczyk delivers the line with a stress-free smile. The Rockets are up 56-38 after outscoring BG 15-7 in the opening minutes of the second half.
14:14 — BG scores four quick points to turn a 21-point deficit into 17. Then the Falcons trap Moss in the corner, forcing him to call a timeout. Kowalczyk is furious about the situation. When Moss comes to the bench, Kowalczyk tells him that Millner was open.
12:10 — Dennis drives to the basket after a BG turnover and scores on a layup. Kowalczyk claps loudly, showing his approval.
9:54 — “Seth can’t guard him,” Kowalczyk says to Massey. Gabe O’Neal, a 6-foot-7, 240-pound forward, scores on back-to-back possessions. He finishes with nine points — all in the second half — and goes 4 for 4 from the field. Millner comes out, with AJ Edu taking his place.
5:46 — Toledo’s lead is down to eight when Farmer hits another crucial basket, dropping a pass from Dennis into the basket less than a second after the ball was thrown.
Kowalczyk sighs and takes a seat on the bench.
4:46 — “Dante, talk!” Kowalczyk shouts as the Toledo offense goes stagnant. The Rockets are plodding through a 2-for-8 stretch.
3:31 — “Yessss!” Kowalczyk screams after Maddox makes a 3 to put Toledo up 14. Kowalczyk turns to the crowd behind UT’s bench and raises his hands over his head pumping his fists.
14.2 — “Why is he acting like that’s not a foul?” Kowalczyk asks his assistants after a foul is called on Farmer and he is unhappy.
There’s nothing to worry about anymore, as Toledo closes out archrival Bowling Green 91-77.
“I’m just proud of our guys,” Kowalczyk says. “I thought from start to finish we played with some focus, some intensity, and defended.”
First Published January 29, 2023, 12:12 a.m.
