Toledo men’s basketball (18-14, 10-8 MAC) outlasted the fifth-seeded Ohio Bobcats (16-16, 10-8 MAC) in a barnburner of a quarterfinal game on Thursday afternoon by a final score of 90-85, moving on to play Akron (26-6, 17-1 MAC) in the semifinal of the MAC tournament on Friday, March 14.
“I thought we played one heck of a game,” Toledo head coach Tod Kowalczyk said postgame. “Offensively we got stagnant in the second half but I’m proud of our win and we are moving on.”
Toledo guards Sam Lewis and Isaiah Adams produced the most for the squad that prevailed in overtime, with Adams scoring 26 points and Lewis earning 21 on top of four blocks and three steals.
Ohio guard Jackson Paveletzke scored 28 in the Bobcats’ disappointing loss, tying his regular-season high.
I was just out there playing really, I wasn’t thinking too much,” Paveletzke said postgame. “It didn’t really matter who was there in front of me, I was tagging what the defense was giving me and trying to get the win.
After Toledo beat the Bobcats by 12 in both teams’ regular season finale, the teams came out ready to fight, as a close first half would end with the Bobcats trailing by only four.
The second half saw the hostile environment of Rocket Arena heat up, with the Ohio and Toledo crowds fighting for the right to earn their team the victory.
With the game winding down, the two teams were even going into the final two minutes, setting up an incredible finish to a game that will be remembered for a long time to come.
A layup by Adams ties the game up at 75 and sets the course for a chance for the Bobcats to set up a play and win the game.
Instead of calling a timeout, The Bobcats rely on Paveletzke, sending him driving down the lane and into a foul call, where he drains one of two free throws and gives Toledo one last chance.
With the ball in his hands and the season on the line, Toledo guard Sonny Wilson gets fouled on his final shot attempt. As the crows look on in disbelief, Toledo fans cheer when Wilson makes the first, but groan when he misses the second, leaving half a second on the clock for Ohio.
The Ohio Hail Mary fails, sending the game of the tournament to overtime.
With the game tied up at 83 and under a minute to play, Lewis comes up clutch, doing it himself for a pull-up two-point jumper and a foul, putting Toledo up three.
Paveletzke puts up a pair for the Bobcats, but they are forced to foul, putting Toledo back up three with under 20 seconds left. Ohio wouldn’t recover and Toledo would live to see another day in Cleveland, moving on to take on the Akron Zips in the first semifinal matchup on Friday, March 14.
“At that point, guys are tired, you gotta make plays and they made a couple more plays than we did,” Ohio head coach Jeff Boals said. “I thought we had good looks and I’m obviously disappointed in the outcome but when you go through a course of a game when you get a stop against them, you got to get the stop.”
