Cleveland, Ohio – Toledo's quest for a Mid-American Conference Tournament title came to an end Friday as the No. 1 seeded Rockets fell to No. 5 Ohio, 87-80, in semifinal action at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
 
        Toledo (21-8) never led in the game, was down by 12 at halftime and trailed by as many as 18 points in the second half before making a late rally. A Marreon Jackson layup with 1:25 left cut the lead to seven, 81-74, but Ohio (15-7) countered with a three-pointer and the Rockets could not get any closer than the final margin.
 
        "Obviously, it's a disappointing and tough loss for us," said Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk. "A big key was how they started the game shooting. Early on they made some deep threes, some contested threes. Give Ohio credit for making their shots. They're a good team. They played better than us today."
 
        Jackson led the Rockets with 29 points, the same total he had in Toledo's 81-79 overtime win in the quarterfinals vs. Ball State on Thursday. The MAC Player of the Year poured in 21 points in the second half. Junior forward Setric Millner Jr. was the only other Rocket in double figures, adding a career-high 26 points and nine rebounds.
 
        The Rockets' offense was hampered by hitting just 6-of-29 shots from three-point range, while Ohio made 9-of-25. The Bobcats out-rebounded Toledo, 42-33. Jason Preston and Ben Vander Plas were a one-two punch for Ohio, scoring 27 and 26 points, respectively.
 
        Toledo will now wait to see if it will be selected as one of 16 teams to play in the National Invitation Tournament. The NIT selection show will be on Sunday night at 8:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
     
FIRST HALF

•  Ohio came out hot, opening up a 16-8 lead on the strength of four three-pointers in the first five minutes.
• Toledo cut the lead to three, 22-19, when Ryan Rollins split a pair of free throws at the 8:11 mark,
•  The Bobcats gradually extended their lead, and went up 43-29 when Ben Vander Plas nailed a three with seven seconds left.
• Marreon Jackson went end-to-end with a layup to trim the lead to 43-31 at the break.

 
SECOND HALF

•  Ohio continued to shoot well, pushing the lead to 52-35 on a layup by Dwight Wilson with 15:52 left.
•  Ohio's lead stayed between 14 and 17 points until a Jackson three-pointer cut the lead to 61-50, with 12:04 remaining.
•  The Bobcats answered with seven unanswered points. A Vander Plas layup with 8:33 left made it 68-50.
•  Toledo chipped away at the margin as Jackson cut the lead to 76-65 with a triple at the 2:50 mark, and then to 81-74 with a layup with 1:25 left.
•  Van Der Plas responded with another three with under a minute to go, to put Ohio back up by 10 and essentially seal the victory for the Bobcats.

Some action from Toledo's semifinal round game against Ohio.


Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk post-game.


Senior Marreon Jackson post-game.