Rockets See Lead Slip Away in 72-69 Loss at Richmond

Saturday, December 11

Richmond, Va.

6:00 p.m.

University of Toledo

7-3,0-0MAC

Richmond

6-4,0-0Atlantic 10

Toledo

Richmond

Photo by: Keith Lucas

Rockets See Lead Slip Away in 72-69 Loss at Richmond

12/11/2021 10:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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RICHMOND, Va. – Junior Setric Millner Jr. scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds, but Toledo dropped a heartbreaking 72-69 decision to Atlantic 10 foe Richmond before a near-capacity crowd on Saturday evening at the Robins Center.

Juniors JT Shumate and RayJ Dennis also scored in double figures for the Rockets (7-3) with 18 and 13 points, respectively. Shumate grabbed seven rebounds, while Dennis collected six boards and five assists. Sophomore Ryan Rollins dished out a team-high six assists.

Junior Tyler Burton topped the Spiders (6-4) with 17 points and nine rebounds.

Toledo held a 41-36 advantage on the boards but was hampered by 11 second-half turnovers that allowed Richmond to rally from a 19-point deficit.

"We had a great first half and then we let them get back in the game," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "Their full-court pressure sped us up, and we turned it over and gave them open threes. We lost a good opportunity to beat a really good team on the road."

The Rockets connected for a season-high 10 three-point field goals with Millner and Shumate both burying four triples apiece.

Toledo will take this week off for final exams and will play its final non-conference contest on Tuesday, Dec. 21 vs. Marshall (7-3). Tip-off time for the contest in Savage Arena is 7:00 p.m.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

Toledo controlled the opening half from the start and jumped out to a 13-0 advantage in the opening five minutes.
Setric Millner Jr. was on fire early, scoring 12 of the Rockets' first 19 points.
Toledo maintained that double-digit cushion until the Spiders scored five straight to reduce their deficit to 23-16 midway through the opening stanza.
Millner capped off a Rockets' 9-0 spurt to end the half with a corner trey for a 41-24 halftime lead.

SECOND HALF

Ra'Heim Moss' layup just over a minute into the second half gave Toledo a 43-24 lead, its largest lead of the night.
Richmond then knocked down five consecutive three-pointers as part of a 17-0 run to trim the Rockets' lead to 46-45 with 13:45 to play.
JT Shumate ended that spurt with two treys of his own to put Toledo back up 52-48 with 12:15 remaining.
The Spiders eventually took their first lead when a 9-0 burst put the Rockets down 61-55 with 8:05 left.
Toledo rallied to even the score at 65-65 on RayJ Dennis' triple with 3:53 left. Moss' layup then put the Rockets ahead on their next possession.
Dennis' two free throws provided Toledo its final lead, 69-68, with 1:03 remaining.
Ryan Rollins then blocked Isaiah Wilson's jumper in the lane but Jacob Gilyard hit a three-pointer after Wilson grabbed the rebound to give the hosts the lead for good with 34.4 seconds left.
Dennis had a chance to tie the contest with 19.4 seconds left but missed two free throws.
After the Spiders converted one of two free throws, the Rockets had a chance to even the score but could not get a shot off.