CLEVELAND — It is the maddest month of the year, where chaos reigns and sanity hangs on by a thread.
For the Toledo men’s basketball program, that’s usually the worst part of March.
This year, it’s the best part.
I have always thought the collection of Rockets who ended the school’s 45-year NCAA tournament drought would be one of the teams we least suspect.
Well, how about this one, which began their dance audition here Thursday with a 90-85 overtime win over Ohio that was as gutty as it was thrilling.
You just never know.
After four straight years of rolling into the Mid-American Conference tournament as the top seed — and four straight years of the burden growing with each passing heartache — Toledo (18-14) took a different road this time, punctuating an uneven regular season with five losses in its last seven games.
“Maybe that’s what we needed,” coach Tod Kowalczyk cracked.
Hey, whatever works.
In any case, credit the fourth-seeded Rockets for surviving and advancing Thursday.
It sure seemed like the other sneaker was about to drop.
Toledo trailed by five with less than three minutes left. Two of its top four scorers (Isaiah Adams and Javan Simmons) fouled out. And guard Sonny Wilson missed a last-second free throw that would have won it in regulation.
But, in the end, on a white-knuckle day that featured 32 ties or lead changes, the Rockets were the tougher, more clutch team.
“Heck of a game,” Kowalczyk said.
If it’s premature to say the Rockets have found something, we did see something approaching their best version, perhaps just in time.
There were their two transfers — Adams (26 points) and Seth Hubbard (12) — delivering as once advertised, and star guard Sam Lewis hitting one big shot after another, and everyone scrapping.
You can tell us Toledo still has five-alarm defensive issues. That’s true. You can’t tell us the players didn’t pour out their hearts. (How about the 6-1 Wilson grabbing a game-high 13 boards? The Rockets outrebounded Ohio 43-37.)
Looking for reasons to believe? Start with Lewis.
It was hard not to be impressed.
The sophomore from Chicago might be the most gifted pure scorer in the MAC. He is not always the most vocal leader or engaged presence defensively, which is to say he’s like many of the Rockets. (UT is 350th nationally in defensive efficiency.)
“Sam is a good defender,” Kowalczyk said. “He has been since he's been here. When he's not engaged is when he’s frustrated or he feels like one or two guys may not be giving him the ball enough. He's a feel-good guy. He's a scorer. He's a very gifted offensive player.”
And yet who was that at the start of overtime full-throatedly encouraging his teammates, not ready for the season to be over?
Yep, Lewis. His message: “Defense, defense.”
And he walked the walk.
Lewis didn’t just have the biggest of his 21 points in overtime: a pair of driving scores — including an and-one — and a 3. He had the biggest of his four blocks, beginning the extra period with a monster rejection of Ohio guard Shereef Mitchell at the rim. The Bobcats were just 3-of-9 from the field in OT.
“In the NCAA tournament or conference tournaments, your best players have to step up and make plays,” Kowalczyk said. “They have to.”
Now, we’ll see if Toledo can keep it going Friday, as the stakes rise along with the challenge.
After beating Ohio for the third time this season — and second time in six days — it will try to beat top-seeded Akron (26-6) for the first time.
Everything says the Zips should win. They have the top offense in the MAC, went 17-1 in league play, and just cruised to a 96-67 win over Bowling Green in their tourney opener Thursday.
But a few reminders worth filing away:
The Rockets led Akron by 12 at halftime in the teams’ first meeting before the Zips roared back to a 85-78 win.
They splashed 63 second-half points on 73 percent shooting in the second meeting, cutting a 24-point deficit to three before falling 96-87.
And, most important, it’s ... March.
At its best, Toledo has proved it can play with anyone, and now we’re in the month where anything can happen.
For the Rockets, that’s usually the curse of this month.
This week, it’s the beauty of it.
First Published March 14, 2025, 12:21 a.m.
