Toledo Stifles WMU Attack in 83-56 MAC-Opening Victory

Wednesday, December 29

Toledo, Ohio

7:00 p.m.

University of Toledo

9-3,1-0MAC

Western Michigan

4-8,0-1MAC

Western Mich.

Toledo

Junior JT Shumate led Toledo with 22 points, 11 rebounds and five assists against WMU.

Photo by: Ross Achter

Toledo Stifles WMU Attack in 83-56 MAC-Opening Victory

12/29/2021 10:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Final Stats (PDF)

TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo dominated defensively in its Mid-American Conference opener against Western Michigan on Wednesday evening, en route to an 83-56 victory over the Broncos (4-8, 0-1 MAC) in Savage Arena. The Rockets (9-3, 1-0 MAC) never trailed and led by as many as 34 points in the second half.

"It was a great team win tonight with contributions from a lot of different people," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said after the Rockets posted their 10^th straight win over WMU. "I thought our defensive energy to start the game was really good and got us up by 20."

Junior JT Shumate and sophomore Ryan Rollins led the way offensively with 22 and 20 points, respectively, and were the only Rockets to score in double digits. Shumate also tied career highs with 11 rebounds and five assists, while Rollins grabbed a career-best five steals. The duo was extremely efficient from the field with Rollins hitting 8-of-11 shots and Shumate knocking down 8-of-12.

Toledo limited Western Michigan to a 32.1 field-goal percentage, including a 2-for-19 effort (10.5 percent) from the behind the three-point arc. The Rockets also committed a season-low five turnovers and forced WMU into 17 miscues.

Toledo held the Broncos' leading scorer, Lamar Norman Jr., to 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting.

The Rockets return to action with a trip to Kent State (5-6, 0-1 MAC) on Saturday, Jan. 1 at 2:00 p.m. The Golden Flashes dropped a 72-69 to Central Michigan at home tonight in their conference opener.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

Ryan Rollins opened the game with a three-pointer to help the Rockets take an early 5-0 lead.
Rollins then scored seven points during a 12-0 spurt that put Toledo up 29-10 with 9:51 left in the opening stanza.
Toledo's lead didn't dip below 15 points the rest of the half as the Rockets took a 40-25 lead to the locker room.

SECOND HALF

Any hopes of a Bronco comeback vanished when Toledo scored the first nine points of the second half for a 49-25 cushion.
JT Shumate keyed the Rockets' quick start with a three-pointer to start the half and a driving layup to close out the spurt.
Ra'Heim Moss' steal and slam capped off an 8-0 burst and increased Toledo's lead to 33 points, 73-40, with 7:26 remaining.
Jordan Burge's layup provided the Rockets their largest advantage of 34 points, 83-49, with 2:23 to play.