RUNNIN’ RAMS TOO MUCH FOR ROCKETS

November 20, 2010 – The Saturday evening game between Toledo and the Rhode Island Rams at Savage Arena looked as if it was quite possibly going to be a blowout loss for the struggling Rockets. After all hadn't URI disposed of a good College of Charleston team, 75-66, in the opening game of the 2K Sports Classic on Friday? And doesn't URI play in the Atlantic 10 Conference, a league that boasts such powers as Dayton, Xavier, and the University of Massachusetts? And didn't URI win 26 games in 2009-10 and advance to the semi-finals of the National Invitational Tournament? That would be the same team.

So it wasn't a big surprise when the taller, quicker, more experienced visitors grabbed a lead on this young Toledo team shortly after the opening tip and quickly added to it with a plethora of treys from the perimeter and some easy baskets in the paint. And if their offensive prowess wasn't enough, the Rams threw a full-court trapping press at the Rockets right from the get-go, and didn't let up until the final minutes of the game.

Toledo, with four freshmen on the floor for the greater part of the game, struggled some against the press, made some errant passes to a few invisible players, and had difficulty finding the hoop in the opening period while the Rams were building up a 41-25 half-time edge.

Freshman forward Delino Dear who struggled mightily in Friday’s game against the University of Illinois-Chicago was Toledo’s point-leader at the break with seven points. Sophomore Malcolm Griffin, relegated to the bench for the second straight game, had six points in a relief role. Freshman Hayden Humes who played so well against UIC had five rebounds against the Rams and their 7-foot center Will Martell.

The Rockets fell behind by as many as 24 points, 52-28, in the second half and it looked as if things were going to get very ugly. Then slowly, UT began to build its intensity level, and the momentum that Rhode Island had been riding for the first twenty minutes began to shift in Toledo’s favor. With Dear and fellow freshmen Zack Leahy and Reese Holliday leading the way that 24-point Rhode Island lead soon began to dwindle.

With 1:50 remaining in the game, Holliday scored on a layup to pull Toledo within seven points, 66-59. The Rockets had a chance to cut further into URI’s lead but came up empty on two consecutive offensive possessions and had no choice then but to foul as the seconds ticked off, allowing the Rams to score seven of their final nine points from the charity stripe to cement the win.

After scoring just 25 points in the first half Toledo put up 40 after the break to make the game interesting.

Things became a little surreal when Toledo scored its 59^th point. There were the Rockets playing their hearts out on the court and looking to make a final run at Rhode Island while the public address announcer was yelling, “Frosty, Frosty” hoping for UT to break the magical 60-point number so that those fans in attendance might score some free Frosty tickets courtesy of a Wendy’s Restaurant promotion.

Even though it was another loss for the winless Rockets, the team seemed to mature some during the course of the game, especially in the second half. This is definitely not the same Rocket team that posted an 82-80 exhibition win over Siena Heights College back on October 30.

Zack Leahy the freshman guard from Rossford, OH found his shooting eye in the second half to post a team-high 17 points on the night. But Leahy wasn't especially happy about either his or the team’s performance. “I don't think we played a full forty-minute game. We played about 20 minutes hard and we're a good team when we play hard and with energy. Tonight we just weren't mentally prepared. We had stretches where we played really well, but we've got to learn to string things together for the whole game.”

Leahy was just one of a trio of freshmen who found the double-digit mark against Rhode Island. Dear had 12 points and Holliday finished with 11 markers. Humes had another strong performance with eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds. In addition to his points, Dear also brought down seven caroms.

Rhode Island guard Akeem Richmond led all scorers in the game with 18 points and he was supported by two teammates who also reached double figures.

In speaking of his team’s performance against the Rams Coach Tod Kowalczyk said, “It’s a disappointing loss, I thought this was a game that if we kept out composure, didn't turn the ball over, and took good shots, we'd have a chance. As it played out in the second half we got back into the game by doing those things. In the first half we just made too many mistakes. It certainly was a learning experience but, once again we had some guys who played better tonight.”

“It’s such a complete process inheriting a program like this and teaching guys how to go about being ready to win, not win, but being ready to win. It’s a learning experience but we're going to get there. There’s a history of losing here and we're going to change that.”

Kowalczyk even went so far as to ask some former players from his Wisconsin-Green Bay team to come in and counsel the Rockets on how to prepare for a game.

Toledo finishes up the round-robin tournament on Sunday against the College of Charleston. Charleston lost to Rhode Island, 75-66, on Friday before posting a 78-66 win over UIC in a Saturday game.

Game time for the Rockets is 3:00 pm.