Friday, March 13
Cleveland, Ohio
5:00 p.m.
University of Toledo
19-14,11-7MAC
77
vs
67
#8 Massachusetts
17-16,7-11MAC
1st half1
2nd half2
FinalF
Massachusetts
34
33
67
Toledo
43
34
77
Team Stats
UMass
UT
FG%
.413
.574
3FG%
.190
.350
FT%
.524
.571
RB
38
31
TO
12
12
STL
10
9
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Sophomore guard Mynor Strong scored 17 points on 7-of-11 from the field in Toledo's 77-67 win over UMass on Friday night.
Red-Hot Rockets Torch UMass, 77-67, in MAC Tournament Semifinals
3/13/2026 8:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
No. 4 seed Toledo to Play in MAC Championship Game vs. Akron-Kent State winner
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Toledo men's basketball team used hot shooting and a stifling defense to defeat UMass, 77-67, in the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Rocket Arena in Cleveland on Friday night.
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The No. 4 seed Rockets will next play for the MAC Championship vs. the winner of the Akron-Kent State game on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. (ESPN2).
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Four Rockets scored in double figures, led by junior guard Sonny Wilson's 18 points, along with sophomore guard Mynor Strong (17), senior forward Sean Craig (15) and freshman guard Leroy Blyden Jr. (12). Toledo shot 57.4% (31-of-54) from the field, including a sizzling 17-of-28 (60.7%) in the first half, while holding UMass to 26-of-63 (41.3%) and just 4-of-21 (19.0%) from long range.
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Toledo got off to a hot start, jumping out to a 13-2 lead on its way to a 43-34 halftime edge. UT extended the edge to as many as 15 points in the second half and answered with a big shot any time UMass attempted a rally, never letting the Minutemen get within nine points in the final three minutes.
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Quoting Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk
"From start to finish, we played exceptionally hard and really guarded well. When you play against UMass, it's number one: defensive rebounding. Sean Craig in particular was outstanding with 11 rebounds on the defensive glass. Mynor Strong had five defensive rebounds. I know UMass had 14 offense rebounds but they only had three at halftime. And they only had two three-pointers at halftime. (Marcus) Banks is one of the best shooters in a country, and we held him (to 3-of-11) at the three-point line. We rebounded well, and we didn't turn it over for the most part. So proud of our effort. Big one tomorrow."
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Rocket Leaders
The Rockets will play for the MAC Championship vs. the winner of the Akron-Kent State game on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2 and will also be carried on the Rocket Radio Network.
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The No. 4 seed Rockets will next play for the MAC Championship vs. the winner of the Akron-Kent State game on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. (ESPN2).
Â
Four Rockets scored in double figures, led by junior guard Sonny Wilson's 18 points, along with sophomore guard Mynor Strong (17), senior forward Sean Craig (15) and freshman guard Leroy Blyden Jr. (12). Toledo shot 57.4% (31-of-54) from the field, including a sizzling 17-of-28 (60.7%) in the first half, while holding UMass to 26-of-63 (41.3%) and just 4-of-21 (19.0%) from long range.
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Toledo got off to a hot start, jumping out to a 13-2 lead on its way to a 43-34 halftime edge. UT extended the edge to as many as 15 points in the second half and answered with a big shot any time UMass attempted a rally, never letting the Minutemen get within nine points in the final three minutes.
Â
Quoting Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk
"From start to finish, we played exceptionally hard and really guarded well. When you play against UMass, it's number one: defensive rebounding. Sean Craig in particular was outstanding with 11 rebounds on the defensive glass. Mynor Strong had five defensive rebounds. I know UMass had 14 offense rebounds but they only had three at halftime. And they only had two three-pointers at halftime. (Marcus) Banks is one of the best shooters in a country, and we held him (to 3-of-11) at the three-point line. We rebounded well, and we didn't turn it over for the most part. So proud of our effort. Big one tomorrow."
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Rocket Leaders
- Sonny Wilson – 18 points, 8-of-9 FG, 4 assists
- Mynor Strong – 17 points, 7-11 FG, 5 rebounds
- Sean Craig –  15 points, 11 rebounds
- Leroy Blyden Jr – 12 points, 7 assist
- All five Rocket starters scored as Toledo jumped out to a 13-2 lead.
- UMass went on a 16-4 run midway through the first half to take a 27-26 lead.
- Sonny Wilson and Leroy Blyden Jr. each hit three-pointers in the final 70 seconds of the half to spark a 15-5 Rocket run that put Toledo up 43-34 at halftime.
- Toledo shot 60.7% (17-28) from the floor in the first 20 minutes.
- Â A 9-2 run pushed Toledo's lead to 61-46 with 13:16 left.
- The closest UMass could get the rest of the way was seven points and the Minutemen never came any closer than nine points in the final three minutes.
- Toledo will be playing for its first MAC Championship Tournament title since 1980.
- Since then, the Rockets have made it to the MAC Tourney finals six times prior to this year: 1991, 1996, 2006, 2014, 2018 and 2023.
- Mynor Strong finished one point shy of his career-high.
- Sean Craig registered his seventh double-double of the season and is one point shy of 1,000 points in his collegiate career.
The Rockets will play for the MAC Championship vs. the winner of the Akron-Kent State game on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2 and will also be carried on the Rocket Radio Network.
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