Mistake in final seconds results in men's basketball fourth straight loss
With an opportunity to drive to the basket and send the game into overtime, the Chippewas didn't grab the chance and fell to Toledo 68-66.
The Chippewas (6-18, 5-8) didn't get a final shot off before the buzzer and lost to the Rockets (21-6, 13-3) in a Mid-American Conference rematch Saturday.
For the past two games the slow starts for the Chippewas left them in a game of catch up. Walking into the Rockets home court, this time the Chippewas sent the opposing team reaching to catch up but, in the end, it came down to the final seconds.
Although the Chippewas fell short beyond the Rockets in the first couple minutes, it was nothing the Chippewas couldn't handle as Harrison Henderson came off the bench to tie the game.
The Chippewas took off on a 10-0 run leaving Toledo scoreless for nearly five minutes giving the Chippewas a lead of eight.
Scoring went dry for the Chippewas allowing Toledo to slowly catch up and go on a run of their own of 12-0 to take the lead. Toledo took momentum from gaining back the lead and took advantage of the Chippewas losing the spark to gain a seven-point lead.
The Chippewas lived up to their names as fighters, going on a 9-2 run to bring themselves with the Rockets at 29. The Chippewas run was all scored by three-pointers. The Chippewas shot 7-for-23 from beyond the arc.
With a total of five back-to-back missed shots combined from both teams, Henderson with a soft touch layup to end the scoring drought and the half at 31-29.
The game finished in a back-and forth manner in what would come down to the final seconds. The Rockets started to pull ahead within a minute leaving the Chippewas scoreless for 1:45. The Chippewas rallied back making it a two-possession game with a shot from beyond the arc from freshman Kevin Miller and a jumper from Cameron Healy brought the Chippewas within one.
The Rockets inbound the ball, and a turnover was forced by the Chippewas giving them the ball with five seconds remaining. Toledo answered right back forcing Bissainthe out of bounds and returning the ball back to the Rockets.
The Rockets JT Shumate was fouled and sent to the line missing his first free throw of the night keeping the Chippewas within tying range. With four seconds remaining Healy took it up the court making his way to a wide-open basket. In looked like Healy would go for a layup, but he instead passed to Henderson standing beyond the arc. Henderson missed the shot as time expired resulting in a loss at 68-66.
The Chippewas were led by Healy with 18 points. Henderson was not far behind with 15 points and nine rebounds.
Shumate had a game-high of 29 points and seven rebounds. Setric Millner had 12 points and five assist.
The Chippewas will continue on the road as they head to Athens to take on Ohio on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
