Toledo took advantage of some hot shooting and controlling the glass as the Rockets handed the Western Michigan men’s basketball team an 89-62 loss at Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio. Toledo took advantage on 51% shooting, 41.7% on 3-pointers, to open up a 21-point lead during the first half and went to the locker room with a 44-30 lead. The Rockets (13-9, 4-5 MAC) were equally dominant in the 2nd half, outscoring Western 45-32 and outrebounding the Broncos (9-13, 3-6 MAC) 42-20.
Coach Steve Hawkins was not happy as he talked with Robin Hook following the game on the Bronco Radio Network. “It was embarrasing. Quite honestly, it’s embarrasing. I really felt like we were prepared going into it, and yeah, we just did not compete at the level we need to compete at in terms of playing hard, and I didn’t see this one coming.” He continued later “I’ve got to step up and take ownership of it which I will. We’ve had better days, we’ve had worse situations and we’ll get back after it, that’s for sure.”
For Toledo, Johnathan Williams led all scorers with 24 points. Nathan Boone had a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards, and Nate Navigato and Jordan Lauf both came off the bench to add 12 each. The Broncos were led once again by Thomas Wilder’s 20 points. Josh Davis came off the bench to score 12.
Next up for Western Michigan is a trip to Muncie, Indiana on Saturday as they face the Ball State Cardinals. You can catch the action with the pre-game starting at 1:30pm across the Bronco Radio Network.
– Jim Lawless
