Rockets Soar into First Place with 84-63 Win Over Akron

Tuesday, February 21

Toledo, Ohio

7:00 PM

University of Toledo

22-6,13-2MAC

Akron

19-9,11-4MAC

Akron

Toledo

Senior Setric Millner Jr. scored 20 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds in Toledo's 84-63 win over Akron.

Photo by: Max Wood

Rockets Soar into First Place with 84-63 Win Over Akron

2/21/2023 10:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Final Stats (PDF)

Toledo moves game in front of Kent State after extending winning streak to 12

TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo men's basketball team is now alone in first place in the Mid-American Conference after winning its 12^th game in a row with a dominating wire-to-wire 84-63 victory over third-place Akron (19-9, 11-4 MAC) on Tuesday evening before 5,677 fans in Savage Arena. The Rockets (22-6, 13-2 MAC) are now a game ahead of second-place Kent State (22-6, 12-3 MAC) after the Golden Flashes dropped an 82-70 decision at Ball State tonight.

"Our defense was locked in from start to finish tonight," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "It was a big, big win for us. Our fan energy and student section was tremendous. It's now one game at a time for us, and every game is a big one the rest of our season."

Seniors Setric Millner Jr. and JT Shumate topped the Rockets offensively with 20 points apiece, while junior RayJ Dennis tallied 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Shumate also hit 9-of-11 free throws to help UT shoot 76.9% (10-of-13) from the charity stripe.

Junior Enrique Freeman paced Akron with 18 points and nine rebounds.

Toledo's defense produced one of its best halves of the season by limiting the Zips to a 34.5 percent shooting mark en route to taking a 37-24 halftime lead. The Rockets held Akron to a 19.0 three-point FG% (4-of-19) and didn't allow a trey until 6:42 remained in the contest.

"I have tons of respect for Akron's program, and I think they have two of the top players in the MAC," Kowalczyk said. "We tried to the keep them uncomfortable and off-balance. Our post traps were on-point and obviously Xavier Castaneda getting into foul trouble in the first half was big for us."

UT also tied its season high with seven blocked shots with junior AJ Edu tying his season high with three rejections.

Toledo will wrap up its 2022-23 home campaign on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 2:00 p.m. vs. Buffalo (13-15, 7-8 MAC). The Rockets' Senior Day ceremony honoring Millner, Jr. and Shumate will be held following the contest.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

The Rockets' 12-game winning streak is their longest since opening the 2013-14 season with a 12-0 mark.
Toledo is 12-1 at home this season and 41-4 in its last 45 home contests.
The Rockets have won seven straight home games vs. Akron.
Toledo is 18-1 when holding its opponent under 80 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

JT Shumate scored the Rockets' first seven points, helping UT take a 7-2 lead less than four minutes into the game.
The Zips used a 7-0 run to pull within 12-11 with 12:55 remaining in the half.
Toledo responded immediately and Ra'Heim Moss' three-pointer at the 7:35 mark capped a 12-0 Rocket run for a 24-11 advantage.
The Rockets' lead remained in double digits the rest of the game and Dante Maddox Jr.'s three-pointer gave UT its largest lead of the half, 33-15, with 4:18 remaining.
Toledo took a 37-24 lead into halftime behind Shumate's 15 points.
The Rockets recorded six blocks in the opening half, including two each from Shumate and AJ Edu, while holding the Zips to 0-of-8 from three-point range.

SECOND HALF

Toledo opened the half with a 16-2 run to gain a 53-26 cushion with 15:28 remaining.
André Lorentsson's three-pointer at the 9:26 mark increased the Rockets' margin to 66-35.
Akron scored seven straight points to cut Toledo's lead to 71-46 with 6:42 to play but the closest the Zips came down the stretch was 17 points with two minutes left.