NASHVILLE, TN – Toledo outlasted Evansville in an 83-79 double-overtime victory on Friday evening in its opening game of the Challenge in Music City at the Municipal Auditorium.

"We showed a lot of heart and I was proud of how we played through adversity," Toledo Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "This game showed us that we can win a grind-it-out type game, and there were a lot of things that we can learn from this victory."

Redshirt freshman center Luke Knapke paced the Rockets' attack with a season-high 19 points in addition to collecting seven rebounds in his first collegiate start. Senior forward Steve Taylor Jr. and sophomore guard Jaelan Sanford each contributed 15 points with Taylor grabbing 15 rebounds en route to his fourth-straight double-double. Junior guard Daniel Dzierzawski also was in double digits with 10 points in addition to dishing out a team-high four assists.  Senior guard Jonathan Williams scored only five points in 13 minutes and did not play after halftime due to injury.

Senior guard Jaylon Brown topped Evansville with 39 points and 11 rebounds in 49 minutes of action.

Taylor's layup gave the Rockets the lead for good, 79-78, with 40.7 seconds remaining. Brown's jumper rimmed out on the Purple Aces' ensuing possession and Dzierzawski knocked down two free throws with 18.0 seconds left for an 81-78 advantage. Brown then missed a trey, but Taylor couldn't convert on two free-throw attempts with 6.5 seconds to play. 

UT fouled Brown with 3.4 seconds left and he made his first shot and missed his second attempt. Senior guard Jordan Lauf nailed two free throws with 0.5 seconds remaining for the final margin of victory.

Toledo had to rally late in regulation to send the game to overtime and trailed 63-58 when sophomore forward Nate Navigato buried a trey with 38.1 seconds left in regulation. Evansville came up empty on its next possession, and Lauf connected on two free throws with 6.2 seconds to play to knot the score.

The Rockets are back in action tomorrow night with a rematch vs. Middle Tennessee. Tip-off time is set for 7:30 p.m. (CT).


Coach Kowalczyk following Rockets' 83-79 (2OT) win over Evansville