ROCKETS CLIP ASHLAND IN EXHIBITION

by

Fred  Janiszewski

Coach Stan Joplin got double-digit production from all five of his starters but the Rockets struggled to overcome Division-II Ashland University 75-70 in the second game of a Sunday doubleheader at Savage Hall..

The absence of senior point guard Kashif Payne was clearly evident throughout most of the contest as the offense continually struggled to get into a comfortable rhythm. But Payne is on a mysterious personal leave that could have UT running the point by committee for the entire season.

Joplin took turns having Tyrone Kent, Jonathan Amos, and freshman Corey Bingham direct the offense, and all three received mixed reviews at the helm. This group-particpation point guard thing could, however, be a harbinger of things to come

The entire game was a see-saw affair with Ashland taking the first-half 33-29 after four ties and seven lead changes.

Freshman center Justin Anyijong led Toledo in the opening stanza scoring 8 points and grabbing 5 rebounds in 10 minutes of action. Kent, Toledo’s fist choice at point guard chipped in with 6 points.

Ashland, a strong perimeter shooting team, forged their first-half lead on the strength of five 3-pointers while the Rockets were just 1-of-9 from beyond the arc.

The visitors increased the lead to 37-29 at the beginning of the second-half before Toledo rallied with some inside shooting and tied the game at 39 on a dunk by Ridley Johnson

The lead bounced back and again until Johnson hit a pair of free throws with 3:18 left in the game to give UT a 65-63 lead. A few seconds later, senior Jerrah Young scored on a layup and Johnson hit a trey to put the Rockets up by 6, 70-64, at the two minute mark.

Ashland managed to cut the lead to 72-70 with just a little over a minute to play, but the Eagles would not score again for the rest of the contest, giving Toledo the win.

Leading the Rockets in scoring were Young, Kent and Johnson with 15 points a piece, followed by, Amos with 11 points, and Anyijong who added 10 markers. Ashland had four players score in double figures.

Young and Anyijong each grabbed 8 caroms for the winners

For the game, Toledo out shot the visitors, 31 field goals to 25, but Ashland stayed in the game on the strength of 11 treys to just four for the Rockets.

This win was a trial for the Toledo but Coach Joplin admitted that his team was behind the learning curve because of the Payne issue and other problems getting his freshmen through the NCAA clearing house:  He remains optimistic, however, that UT will be ready for the new season.

Commenting after the game the head mentor said, “We had a lot of guys playing out of position today but I think they did a pretty good job under the circumstances. There was some good and some bad out there for us, but we just have to keep working hard and improve.”

On the plus side for Toledo, Anyijong played well in his college debut as did freshman forward Mohammed Lo who had four points on the evening. Lo could turn out to be a bigger version of Tino Valencia

Freshman combo guard Corey Bingham was on the court for 25 minutes on Sunday after just one practice with the team but still has a long way to go to learn the offense.