TOLEDO, OH ? Toledo nearly rallied from a five-point halftime deficit but Akron came up with an answer each time in the Rockets' 70-61 defeat to the Zips on Wednesday evening at John F. Savage Arena. UT's record dropped to 4-16 overall and 2-4 in the MAC with the defeat, while UA improved to 12-8 overall and 3-3 in the conference.
Toledo trailed by a 30-25 margin at halftime and was able to close within a point at 47-46 midway through the second stanza. UT was never able to take the lead though and climbed to within at least four points on six other occasions the remainder of the contest.
Senior G Tyrone Kent led the Rockets offensively with a game-high 19 points but was saddled by foul trouble and played just 23 minutes. Sophomore F Justin Anyijong and freshman G Larry Bastfield also were in double figures for UT with 10 points apiece.
“Having Tyrone on the bench hurts his rhythm and our team's rhythm” Cross said. “Ty give us a lot of energy and I love the type of competitor he is. When you don't have that competitiveness on the floor it hurts.”
The Zips utilized a balanced attack with junior G Darryl Roberts and sophomore F Brett McKnight tallying 12 points each.
The Rockets continued to be plagued by turnovers, committing 19 miscues that led to 26 Akron points. UT also was outrebounded decisively with the Zips holding a 34-24 margin.
"We got out-toughed and manhandled," Cross said. "Akron's a physical bunch and if you can't match their physicality and toughness you're not going to give yourself a chance to win. You can't win by turning the ball over and getting outrebounded like we did. Akron did a good job of crashing the glass and sharing the basketball. They played through their mistakes and did very well."
Bastfield kept the Rockets close in the early stages with a pair of treys to even the score at 10-10 four minutes into the contest. The Zips then heated up from the outside with three treys keying an 11-3 run.
UT answered with a 10-2 spurt and Bastfield evened the score at 23-23 with a layup four minutes before halftime thanks to a nice pass from freshman C Ian Salter on a give-and-go.
Roberts provided the visitors a 30-25 halftime lead though with a trey and finished the opening period with a team-high eight points.
Toledo climbed to within three points at 37-34 four minutes into the second half but the Zips pushed their lead to a game-high nine points at 47-38 with just over 13 minutes to play.
The Rockets made another surge and Kent sparked an 8-0 run with two free throws a pair of layups to leave UT trailing 47-46 with 11:29 to play.
The Zips pushed their lead back to five at 51-46 on baskets from senior F Nate Linhart and junior F Chris McKnight before Byrd nailed a jumper from the foul line to bring Toledo to within three.
UT then fell behind 56-50, but Anyijong converted a traditional three-point play for a three-point deficit. Senior G Ridley Johnson then came up with a steal but his ensuing dunk attempt clanged off the back of the rim.
“I liked the way Ridley attacked the rim and you want players to be aggressive,” Cross said. “You also want him to make the basket. I'm not sure whether he was fouled or not because I didn't get a good look at it. It does take the wind out of your sails a little bit though, but I was glad we were aggressive and came up with the steal.”
Freshman G Brett McLanahan restored control of the game for the Zips a minute later by drilling his second trey of the half to give the Zips a 59-53 lead.
UT had a chance to make it a one-possession game with two minutes to play but a turnover led to a Zip layup.
Toledo returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 31 when it travels to Buffalo, NY to battle the MAC East Division-leading Bulls. The contest will tip off at Noon and be televised on ESPN2.
