KALAMAZOO, MI – Toledo saw its season-long five-game winning streak halted on Tuesday evening with a 90-74 road setback at Western Michigan.
Senior guard Jonathan Williams led four Rockets in double figures with 19 points. He was joined by sophomore forward Nate Navigato (16 pts.), senior forward Steve Taylor Jr. (13 pts.) and senior guard Jordan Lauf (11 pts.).
Taylor also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to register his MAC-best 12th double-double of the season.
Freshman guard Reggie Jones was one of five Broncos to post double-digit scoring totals, finishing with a season-high 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting.
The Rockets (9-7, 2-1 MAC) shot 43.3 percent from the floor, 26.1 percent (6-of-23) from three-point range and 84.2 percent (16-of-19) from the charity stripe.
Western Michigan (5-10, 1-2 MAC) was red-hot from the field in its first conference home game with its 70.0 percent shooting mark, the highest by a Rocket opponent this season. The Broncos also knocked down 7-of-10 three-point attempts and 13-of-16 free throws.
Toledo tied its season low with nine turnovers but that wasn't enough to overcome WMU's offensive efficiency.
Jones keyed the Broncos' quick start in the contest with 12 points in the first 6:10 of the contest to put the hosts in front by a 16-9 margin. WMU took its largest lead of the opening stanza, 33-21, following senior forward Tucker Haymond's three-point play with 6:38 remaining in the half.
Toledo responded with a 7-0 spurt, that included to a pair of Lauf layups sandwiching a pair of Williams' free throws, to cut its deficit to 33-28 at the 4:12 mark. That was as close as UT could come for the remainder of the half as WMU took a 42-37 advantage to the locker room.
Western Michigan scored the first two baskets of the second half and eventually re-established a 12-point cushion, 61-49, following a Jones' layup with 12:26 to play. The Rockets quickly answered though with a 10-2 burst, keyed by a pair of Navigato treys, to cut the Broncos' lead to 63-59 with 10:17 remaining.
WMU removed any hopes of a UT comeback with a 14-4 run for an 85-68 margin just before the four-minute mark.
Toledo returns to action with another MAC West Division road encounter when it faces Central Michigan (10-6, 0-3 MAC) on Friday. Jan. 13. The contest from Mount Pleasant will be televised at 7:00 p.m. on the CBS Sports Network.
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Coach Kowalczyk's Post-Game Interview
Senior Jordan Lauf's Post-Game Interview
