CLEVELAND, Ohio – Toledo rallied from a 15-point deficit but could not come all the way back in a 70-62 loss to Akron in the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament in Cleveland on Friday.
 
The Rockets trailed 38-23 late in the first half but cut the lead to 10 points at halftime, setting up a closely fought second half in which No. 1 seed Toledo (26-7) pulled to within one point, and trailed by just two points, 61-59, with less than three minutes to play. But No. 4 seed Akron (23-9) held the Rockets to just three points the rest of the way to earn a berth into Saturday's MAC Championship Game against either Kent State or Ohio.
 
I thought Akron played really, really well," said Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk. "But it came down to two things. Offensively, in the first half, we lost what we were all season long for the most part. We had three assists, and the ball wasn't moving. Give Akron's defense credit. They really gapped us. Secondly, we're in what, the top 20 nationally in free throw percentage. For us to go 10-of-22 from the line, there's the game right there."
 
Sophomore guard Ryan Rollins led Toledo with 18 points, 11 of which came in the second half. Redshirt freshman guard Ra'Heim Moss (13), junior forward JT Shumate (12) and junior guard RayJ Dennis (11) also finished in double figures.
 
Junior guard Xavier Castaneda paced Akron with 26 points, finishing 5-of-11 from three-point range and 7-of-7 at the free-throw line.
 
The Zips shot 47.2 percent from the field, slightly better than the Rockets' 44.4 shooting mark. Akron had a decided advantage at the free-throw line, knocked down 12-of-15 compared to Toledo's 10-of-22 effort. UT entered the contest with a 76.6 FT%.
       
Akron held a slight 36-33 edge on the boards, but the Rockets held a 36-24 advantage in points in the paint.
 
Despite the loss, Kowalczyk had praise for his team, which returns all five starters next year.
 
"I love this team. I mean, how can you not love them?" said Kowalczyk. "It's a fun team to root for, to coach, to watch, as I've ever been around. And they're together. Those guys love each other. They hurt for each other."
             
FIRST HALF

•  Akron made 5-of-9 shots from the field in the opening minutes to grab a 12-7 lead at the first media timeout.
•  Nine straight points from Ra'Heim Moss followed by a triple by JT Shumate brought Toledo to within three, 17-14, at the 12:05 mark.
•  The Zips then went on a 13-4 run capped off by Xavier Castaneda's jumper to extend Akron's lead to 30-18 with 5:48 left.
•  Akron extended the lead to 38-23 before Ryan Rollins hit a pair of shots, the last a three-pointer with 26 seconds left, to bring the Rockets to within 10 at the half, 38-28.
•  Toledo shot 11-of-26 (42.3%) from the field in the first half, while Akron hit on 16-of-30 (53.3%). Moss paced the Rockets with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

SECOND HALF 

•  Toledo scored the first six points of the second half to trim Akron's advantage to 38-34.
•  Setric Millner's put-back at the 12:37 mark cut the lead to 46-44. A Shumate triple moments later brought UT to within one, 48-47.
•  Casteneda hit consecutive three-pointers to extend the Zips' lead to 59-51 with 7:38 left.
•  A driving shot by RayJ Dennis cut the Rockets' deficit to 59-55 at the 6:34 mark. Shumate's layup moments later brought UT to within two points, 61-59.
•  Akron answered with a layup from Enrique Freeman and a three-pointer by Mikal Dawson to take a 66-59 lead with 1:53 left.
•  Ryan Rollins hit free throws with 1:30 left to cut the lead to 66-62, but Toledo did not score the rest of the way. Akron made four free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.

Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk, sophomore Ryan Rollins, junior JT Shumate post-game.