On Tuesday, Dante Maddox, Jr., was stuck in an elevator.

On Friday, the Toledo guard made the tiebreaking shot in the final minute of the Rockets’ 85-83 victory over Ohio.

“[I was trying] not to think too much,” Maddox said after the critical Mid-American Conference win.

That statement could have been uttered earlier in the week.

Maddox was at a UT men’s basketball fund-raiser Tuesday when the elevator at a local business malfunctioned and the doors wouldn’t open. He spent 30 frightful minutes alone, as coach Tod Kowalczyk and athletic trainer Brian Jones reassured Maddox over the phone and through the doors to remain calm.

Any frayed nerves dissipated on Friday, with Maddox scoring a team-high 21 points for the Rockets, including a clutch 3 to break a 76-all tie. He was 8-of-14 shooting with three 3s, a career-high six assists, one steal, and only one turnover in 37 minutes.

“I was terrified,” said Maddox, who suffers from claustrophobia. “Let me tell you, the first thing I did was have a second of panic. But I hear Coach K always talk about taking yoga breaths, so that’s what I did. And then I called my mom and told her I was trying not to freak out. I just needed to talk. That’s the person who knows how to calm me down more than anybody.”

He wasn’t the only college basketball player this week to experience the misfortune of being stuck in an elevator. On Thursday, Fairleigh Dickinson’s team got stuck, delaying their game against Long Island. And like Maddox, Fairleigh Dickinson persevered, beating LIU 84-82.

Toledo (16-9, 10-2) spent the entire week ruminating about last Saturday’s loss at Appalachian State. The Rockets surrendered a nine-point lead in the final 2:19 of regulation, losing in double overtime and spoiling an opportunity to secure a signature win.

Would the disappointment linger? Was it a sign of things to come after losing to Akron and needing a late rally to beat Eastern Michigan? How would the Rockets react the next time they faced adversity?

No, no, and just fine.

“That’s nothing short of a championship effort and a championship win,” Kowalczyk said.

Ohio (13-12, 7-5) went on a 13-0 run in the opening minutes and led for more than half the game. None of it fazed Toledo, which outscored the Bobcats 46-39 in the second half.

In the first half, when Ohio shot 57 percent and made nine 3-pointers, it looked as if Toledo would sleepwalk through Friday night’s game with little energy and a lack of urgency. But the second half played out like most this season — especially at Savage Arena: The Rockets increased the defensive intensity and got stops during winning time.

“Our second half defense was much improved,” Kowalczyk said.

The Bobcats went scoreless more than four minutes midway through the half, shot 38 percent, and only made 3 of 11 attempts from beyond the arc. They had zero field goals in the final three minutes and went 1 for 5 in the final five minutes.

“I feel like we learned from [last Saturday],” said Toledo guard Ra’Heim Moss, who had 16 points and eight rebounds. “Look past it, but also learn from it. And we will.”

Javan Simmons finished with 13 points and 16 rebounds, Tyler Cochran had 13 points and eight rebounds, and Sonny Wilson scored 12 points.

The final 35 seconds were a free throw contest, with Toledo making six of nine and Ohio making seven of 10. The Rockets fouled several times up 3 to prevent Ohio from tying the score.

UT only had two turnovers in the second half, and neither came in the final two minutes.

AJ Clayton scored a game-high 22 points for the Bobcats.

Friday was the first of a three-game gauntlet for UT — Ohio, Akron, and Bowling Green.

“This seven-day stretch is vital to four-peat,” Kowalczyk said. “We all know that coaches take it one game at a time. But in college basketball, you always have to look at the big picture of your season. When you play Friday at home, Tuesday at home, and Friday at Bowling Green, that’s a huge stretch for us. We have to be consistent and do what got us to this point.”

Maddox hopes it doesn’t include elevators.

“I won’t ever do that again,” he said. “I will take the stairs the rest of my life. Seriously.”

First Published February 17, 2024, 5:22 a.m.