Toledo rallies past Blue Raiders, 75-69, in overtime

Saturday, November 18

St. Thomas, Virgin Islands

5:00 PM

Middle Tennessee

Toledo

Photo by: Bradley Lambert

11/18/2006 6:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: MT Media Relations

ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands - Looks of dismay covered the faces of Middle Tennessee players as they left the locker room following the team's second game of the Paradise Jam Tournament here Saturday night - and with good reason. The Blue Raiders (1-3) seemingly were on the verge of what would have been a quality win against a Toledo team projected to win the MAC; however, the Rockets overcame a 19-point deficit with 12:29 remaining to storm from behind and shock Middle Tennessee, 75-69, in overtime at the University of the Virgin Islands. Tim Blue led Middle Tennessee with 14 points, while Kevin Kanaskie and Nigel Johnson tallied 13 and combined to shoot 8-of-11 from the field. Kyle Young finished 2ith 10 points as the Blue Raiders had four in double figures. "It is a very disappointing loss," Middle Tennessee coach Kermit Davis said. "They had two great players that made shots and that's all you can say. I thought for the first 20 minutes it was the best half we have played. We guarded defensively, we ran great offense and all we talked about at halftime was to come out with a presence and physicalness, and we did, but when the game got to 10 we stopped guarding and we got into a rut offensively. It's just a tough loss." Middle Tennessee had an opportunity to seal the win with seven seconds remaining in regulation and one of its best free-throw shooters, Johnson, at the line. Johnson reeled in a steal with 14 seconds remaining and the Blue Raiders leading 61-59. He was fouled and hit the first of two free throws to extend the lead to 62-59 but his second attempt came off the rim and Justin Ingram buried a 26-foot 3-pointer with one second remaining to force overtime. The Rockets (1-2) overcame two overtime deficits to outscore Middle Tennessee 13-7 in the extra period to secure the shocking comeback win. "This one hurts and it's tough to take," said Johnson, who scored 13 points and collected five steals. "Missing that free throw hurts because it could have sealed the game." It should have never come down to a free throw; however, as Middle Tennessee led 53-34 following a Blue layup with 12:29 remaining. That's when the Blue Raiders went through a scoring slump and the Rockets took full advantage by catching fire from 3-point range. While the Blue Raiders were going more than seven minutes without a field goal, Toledo seemingly could not miss and they were taking long-range 3-pointers. Suddenly the double-figure lead had evaporated as Ingram poured in 32 points and Keonta Howell tallied 21. The duo combined to shoot 11-of-22 from 3-point range. The loss overshadowed one of the greatest shooting nights in school history - at least for a half. The Blue Raiders shot a scorching 72.7 percent (16-of-22) in the first half. It was the third-highest field goal percentage in school history for a single half and the best ever for a Middle Tennessee in the opening half. It also led to a 39-21 halftime advantage. Despite its scoring lull in the second half, Middle Tennessee still shot 58 percent for the game - a season high - but its 21 turnovers and defensive lapses led to the defeat. Toledo parlayed those turnovers into 26 points. The Rockets shot 42 percent (13-of-31) from 3-point range which was better than its 41 percent overall from the field. Nine of the Rockets' 12 second half field goals were 3-pointers and Howell and Ingram combined for all but one of them. Another telling statistic was at the free-throw line, where the Blue Raiders shot 59 percent (10-of-17), while the Rockets shot 87 percent (20-of-23). Middle Tennessee will face College of Charleston in its final game at the Paradise Jam Monday at noon.