ROCKETS HUMBLED IN MAC OPENER

January 8, 2011 – Toledo took one on the chin Saturday evening in Savage Arena as the visiting Eastern Michigan Eagles pummeled the Midnight Blue and Gold in the conference opener for both teams, 71-48.

On paper the contest appeared to be an even matchup between a pair of three-win teams that were struggling to find a little modicum of success and respect after underachieving in their respective pre conference slates. Toledo (3-11) had just finished a disappointing two-game road trip against North Carolina-Wilmington and Alabama, but still may have had a little home momentum to fall back on after winning three straight games back in December.

Looking at their records, Eastern Michigan (3-10) looked to be a little worse off than Toledo, as the Eagle wins came against opponents that respectable Division-1 teams only play in the exhibition season. And hadn't EMU lost to Valparaiso, a team that Toledo beat to begin that three-game win streak? Well, it just didn't work out as a good many people thought it would.

A nice crowd of 4,486 fans showed up to welcome the Rockets home and give them some moral support. It turns out that UT needed more, much more, than moral support.

The game began well for the Rockets as they hit four of their first five shots, and they even had an 11-10 lead after Reese Holliday canned a triple at the 13:28 mark. Then the first draught came and they managed just one point on a free throw for the next six minutes, until Delano Dear broke the ice with a layup.

And right about the time that Toledo’s shooting went south, the Eagles, who had made just one three-point shot in nine attempts, began finding the range from beyond the arc. A 14-5 EMU run, featuring three shots from long distance, opened up a nine point, 31-22, lead with time running down in the half. Baskets by Malcolm Griffin and Holliday brought Toledo within five points but EMU’s Quinton Daily then lofted a three-pointer with two seconds to play that bounced off the rim. Brandon Bowdry, a 6-6 senior forward, who plays with some serious attitude, went up high to tip in the miss as time expired. That basket gave the visitors a 33-26 half-time lead and seemed to set the stage for how the second half was going to be played.

Led by Bowdry, who had a game high 19 points and 13 rebounds, Eastern Michigan slowly but steadily began increasing the point margin between the two teams. Toledo senior Anthony Wright put a bandage on the wound when he dialed long distance to cut the lead to 42-35, five minutes into the half, but the lead was soon double digits as the Eagles made the hustle plays, went after the loose balls, and out-muscled the Rockets under the boards.

Whether it was missing layups, throwing up air balls, clanking free throws, or failing to switch on defense, the Rockets were guilty as charged in the final 20 minutes. Toledo also had a six-minute draught mid way through second half, netting just a solitary basket as the Eagles were adding to their lead.

After the game Coach Tod Kowalczyk said, “It was a very disappointing home opener in MAC play. I don't think we played with nearly the energy that we need to play with in the conference, especially our home opener. Today our freshmen played too much like freshmen. They've been getting a lot of minutes and at this point in the season they need to be more assertive, more aggressive and tougher than they were.”

Griffin garnered 14 points to lead Toledo in scoring and he had some help from Reese Holliday (13 points) and Dear (10 points). Holliday also had 12 rebounds to register his third double-double of the season, as well as dishing out four assists.

Assisting Bowdry in The Eastern Michigan scoring were Darrell Lampley (14 points) and Kamil Janton (10 points)

The Rockets lost the rebounding battle, 45-31, allowing the visitors to grab 16 offensive boards, seven more than the home team could muster.

Toledo (3-12, 0-1 MAC) now prepares for consecutive road games against Central Michigan and Northern Illinois.