KALAMAZOO, Mich. – A great defensive effort in the second half and some clutch shooting down the stretch helped Toledo win its sixth straight game with an 85-81 triumph at Western Michigan Tuesday evening. The victory gave UT (14-6, 6-1 MAC) a three-game lead in the Mid-American Conference's West Division as well as a sweep of its season series vs. WMU.

Senior guard Tre'Shaun Fletcher and junior guard Jaelan Sanford spearheaded the Rocket attack with 22 and 21 points, respectively, while freshman guard Marreon Jackson contributed a career-high 15 points. Junior forward Taylor Adway led the Rockets on the boards with a career-high 10 rebounds to go along with seven points.

That was just enough to overcome a career-high 40-point explosion by Bronco senior guard Thomas Wilder, who was 11-of-24 from the field and 15-of-17 from the charity stripe.

Toledo shot 46.2 percent from the field in the contest, while connecting on 13-of-28 (46.4 percent) three-point and 24-of-32 (75.0 percent) free-throw attempts. WMU was held to a 37.5 field-goal mark (6-of-18 from three-point range) and was 27-of-34 (79.4 percent) at the free-throw line.

The Rockets limited the Broncos to a 24.1 field-goal percentage in the second half, but WMU was able to remain in the game by converting 24-of-29 free throws in the final 20 minutes.

UT led by as many as nine points in the second half, but Wilder's back-to-back treys put the Broncos on top, 75-74, with 4:40 to play. That was the only time WMU led in the second half, as Fletcher knocked down two free throws following a Rocket timeout to put UT back in front with just over four minutes remaining.

Toledo gained some breathing room when Jackson's corner trey provided a 79-75 advantage with 2:27 to play. Sanford's layup less than a minute later then put the Rockets up six, but WMU would not go away.

Wilder's two free throws with 1:32 remaining ended a three-minute scoring drought.  After both teams came up empty on their next possession, but Jackson missed two free throws with 38.2 seconds left to keep the Broncos' comeback hopes alive.

Sophomore center Seth Dugan's three-point play cut Toledo's lead to 81-80 with 23.7 ticks showing, but Sanford put the Rockets back up three with 11.9 seconds left. The Broncos had a chance to tie the score after Wilder hit one of two free throws with nine seconds to play, and WMU gained possession after the ensuing rebound went out of bounds.

Sanford closed out the victory, though, with a big block on a Wilder layup and then sinking two free throws with 2.0 seconds remaining for the final margin of victory.

Toledo returns home for its next two contests, beginning with Saturday's Battle of I-75 matchup vs. arch-rival Bowling Green. Tip-off time in Savage Arena is set for 7:00 p.m.


Coach Kowalczyk's post-game comments at Western Michigan