CMU men's basketball comes up short against Toledo
With only 29 seconds remaining in the game, Central Michigan men's basketball trailed Toledo by two needing a defensive stand to keep its hopes of winning alive.
As the ball was inbounded, guards Damarion Bonds and Jakobi Heady double-teamed Toledo forward Andre Lorentsson, causing him to cough up the ball with 24 seconds to play.
The ball was passed to guard Kyler VanderJagt, who let time run off the clock to ensure CMU had the final possession. With three seconds remaining, he was forced to chuck a contested mid-range shot that was blocked, and Central Michigan lost 69-67.
The Chippewas fall to 6-9 in the season and 0-3 in Mid-American Conference play. Saturday's loss being their fourth loss of the season decided by three points or less.
The game started with CMU's offense off to a hot start, taking a 10-2 lead throughout the first four minutes of the game as the Rocket's offense struggled with turnovers.
The Toledo offense got into a rhythm as Central Michigan's shooting cooled off, allowing the Rockets to close the gap to a one-point game with five minutes remaining in the half.
Toledo put together its best run of the first half in the final three minutes, going into halftime with a 34-30 lead.
Coming out of halftime, both teams struggled on defense, trading points for the first five minutes. Toledo began slightly pulling away, boasting a 47-40 lead with 13 minutes remaining in the game.
The squad from Mount Pleasant refused to roll over as it found some success on both sides of the ball cutting the deficit to four with only five minutes left.
Central Michigan got into foul trouble late in the game, giving the Rockets easy points at the line. Toledo jumped ahead 68-62 with under two minutes left to play.
With the momentum going against them, the Chippewas needed to find points quickly to keep the game alive. That is when Bonds drilled a shot from behind the arc, cutting the deficit to three with 1:22 still on the clock.
A foul gave Toledo a chance at free throws but after making the first, guard Sonny Wilson was unable to knock down the second, making the score 69-65 in favor of the Rockets with 42 seconds to play.
The Chippewas were fouled on the next possession sending VanderJagt to the line, who sank both shots.
Following the free throws, Toledo had to inbound the ball with 29 seconds remaining for a chance to run out the clock. As the ball was passed into play, Bonds ripped it out of the hands of Lorentsson, giving CMU a chance at a game-tying shot with 24 seconds remaining.
The ball was passed into VanderJagt who allowed time to run off the clock. With only a few seconds remaining, he was forced to chuck a contested shot, but it was blocked, and the game ended 69-67 in favor of the Rockets.
Heady led the team in scoring with 19 points, his most in a game since transferring to Central Michigan from Bethune-Cookman. VanderJagt was close behind with 17 points going 6-12 from the field.
The Chippewas continued to dominate under the basket, outscoring Toledo 36-26 in the paint.
CMU men's basketball will head back to Mount Pleasant for an in-state rivalry against Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
