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Courtesy: UT Sports Information

Toledo Men's Basketball Holds Off Late Rally to Knock Off Ohio

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TOLEDO – Toledo fought off a frantic Ohio rally on Wednesday evening to knock off their Mid-American Conference East Division counterparts, 77-73, before a lively crowd in Savage Arena. The victory prevented the Bobcats (19-5, 7-3 MAC) from registering their 20th victory and lifted UT's record to 11-13 overall and 3-7 in the MAC.
 
Sophomore G Rian Pearson and sophomore F Matt Smith paced the Rockets offensively with 18 points apiece with junior G Curtis Dennis and freshman G Julius Brown joining them in double figures with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
 
Pearson also spearheaded a dominant effort on the glass that led to UT owning a 43-32 rebounding advantage with a career-high 16 boards, including nine of the Rockets' season-high 20 offensive caroms.
 
Junior G D.J. Cooper paced the Bobcats with 18 points and game-high five assists.
 
The visitors opened the contest on fire, scoring the game's first 15 points but UT began to chip away and utilized a 19-2 spurt to take a 31-28 advantage on a pair of Dennis free throws just over three minutes before halftime. 
 
Sophomore G Reese Holliday's layup at the buzzer provided the Rockets a 38-34 lead at intermission.
 
UT carried its momentum into the second stanza and Smith's back-to-back buckets gave the Midnight Blue and Gold its first double-digit lead, 49-38, with 14:29 to play.
 
The Rockets were able to maintain a comfortable cushion until Cooper's eight straight points gave Ohio a 72-71 advantage with 1:35 remaining. Dennis answered with a three-point play on UT's next possession though for a 75-73 lead at the 1:08 mark setting the stage for a climactic ending.
 
Junior F Ivo Baltic misfired on a jumper on the Bobcats' ensuing possession, but UT came up empty as well when a Dennis trey rimmed out. Cooper then launched a deep three that missed with six seconds remaining, but Holliday traveled after the Rockets grabbed the rebound.
 
Cooper's in-bounds pass then went of bounds with 2.2 seconds left, and Smith's two free throws secured the victory.
 
Toledo returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 11 when it visits arch-rival Bowling Green (12-11, 6-4 MAC). Tip-off time from the Stroh Center is set for 4:00 p.m.

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