Late-Game Heroics Propel Rockets Over Miami, 66-63

Tuesday, January 29

Oxford, Ohio

7:00 p.m.

University of Toledo

17-4, 5-3MAC

Miami

11-10, 3-5MAC

Toledo

Miami (OH)

Sophomore Marreon Jackson tallied 16 points and a team-high five assists in Toledo's 66-63 win at Miami.

Photo by: Will Edmonds

Late-Game Heroics Propel Rockets Over Miami, 66-63

1/29/2019 10:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Final Stats (PDF)

OXFORD, Ohio – Senior Nate Navigato scored the game's final five points to lift Toledo (17-4, 5-3 MAC) to a 66-63 road win over Miami (11-10, 3-5 MAC) on Tuesday night in Millett Hall. The victory was the Rockets' fifth in their last six games and kept UT in a tie for first place in the MAC's West Division with Northern Illinois (12-9, 5-3 MAC).

With Toledo trailing 63-61, Navigato buried a three with 1:06 to play before sealing the game on a driving layup with 17.7 seconds remaining. Miami's Dalonte Brown missed a three-point shot with seven seconds left, and sophomore Marreon Jackson grabbed the rebound.

Navigato finished with a game-high 20 points (17 in the second half) and also grabbed a season-high eight rebounds. Marreon Jackson scored 16 points and dished out a game-high five assists, while junior Luke Knapke tallied 13 points and a game-high nine boards.

Knapke, Navigato and junior Willie Jackson (7 reb.) helped Toledo dominate the boards by a 42-28 margin and limit the RedHawks to just a pair of offensive rebounds.

"This was a big win for us against a good team on the road," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "After not playing that well in the first half, Navi had a big second half for us and hit some really big shots. We're a veteran team, and I was proud of how we responded after Miami came back to take the lead."

Sophomore Nike Sibande paced Miami with 18 points, with junior Bam Bowman contributing 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting from three-point range.

Toledo returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 2 with a trip to DeKalb, Ill. to face NIU (12-9, 5-3 MAC). Tip-off time for the battle for first place in the MAC's West Division is set for 2:00 p.m. CT.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

Miami jumped out to an early 14-7 lead before Luke Knapke keyed a 9-0 spurt with a layup and three to give the Rockets a 16-14 lead with 10:29 left in the opening half.
The RedHawks answered right back with threes from Jalen Adaway and Bam Bowan to make the score 20-16.
Miami maintained its lead until Marreon Jackson scored five points in the final 30 seconds to put Toledo in front by a 31-29 margin.
Marreon Jackson and Knapke led UT in the first half with 11 points each.
Toledo held a 19-16 rebounding advantage but wasn't able to grab an offensive rebound.

SECOND HALF

Back-to-back treys from Nate Navigato and Chris Darrington increased Toledo's lead to nine points, 47-38, with 13:41 remaining.
The Rockets took their largest lead of the game, 55-44, following a Willie Jackson free throw with 10:49 to play.
A Navigato layup with 4:28 left gave UT a 61-54 lead, but Miami responded by scoring nine-straight points over the next three minutes to take its first lead of the second half.
After Darrian Ringo's two free throws with 1:43 remaining, Navigato missed a three-pointer but Marreon Jackson dove for the rebound and was able to call a timeout.
Navigato came through on his next long-distance attempt with 1:06 left to give UT the lead for good.
Nike Sibande missed a jumper on Miami's ensuing possession. Following a Rocket timeout, Navigato broke free for a layup with 17.7 ticks left.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

The Rockets are 4-1 in games decided by five points or less this season, and 11-3 in those contests since the start of the 2017-18 campaign.
Toledo has won its last 12 meetings vs. Miami, including its last five contests in Millett Hall.
Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk holds a 12-1 win-loss mark vs. the RedHawks.
The Rockets converted 6-of-9 free-throw attempts, but Miami could only convert 10-of-18 shots from the charity stripe
Luke Knapke is the only Rocket to score in double digits in every MAC contest.
Spencer Littleson grabbed a season-high three steals and dished out three assists in 24 minutes.