Men's Basketball

No. 4 Toledo Captures Semifinal Victory over No. 8 UMass

Story Courtesy of Toledo Athletic Communications

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Toledo men's basketball team used hot shooting and a stifling defense to defeat UMass, 77-67, in the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Rocket Arena in Cleveland on Friday night.

The No. 4 seed Rockets will next play for the MAC Championship vs. the winner of the Akron-Kent State game on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. (ESPN2).

Four Rockets scored in double figures, led by junior guard Sonny Wilson's 18 points, along with sophomore guard Mynor Strong (17), senior forward Sean Craig (15) and freshman guard Leroy Blyden Jr. (12). Toledo shot 57.4% (31-of-54) from the field, including a sizzling 17-of-28 (60.7%) in the first half, while holding UMass to 26-of-63 (41.3%) and just 4-of-21 (19.0%) from long range.

Toledo got off to a hot start, jumping out to a 13-2 lead on its way to a 43-34 halftime edge. UT extended the edge to as many as 15 points in the second half and answered with a big shot any time UMass attempted a rally, never letting the Minutemen get within nine points in the final three minutes.

How It Happened
  • All five Rocket starters scored as Toledo jumped out to a 13-2 lead.
  • UMass went on a 16-4 run midway through the first half to take a 27-26 lead.
  • Sonny Wilson and Leroy Blyden Jr. each hit three-pointers in the final 70 seconds of the half to spark a 15-5 Rocket run that put Toledo up 43-34 at halftime.
  • Toledo shot 60.7% (17-28) from the floor in the first 20 minutes.
  •  A 9-2 run pushed Toledo's lead to 61-46 with 13:16 left.
  • The closest UMass could get the rest of the way was seven points and the Minutemen never came any closer than nine points in the final three minutes.
  • Game Notes
  • Toledo will be playing for its first MAC Championship Tournament title since 1980.
  • Since then, the Rockets have made it to the MAC Tourney finals six times prior to this year: 1991, 1996, 2006, 2014, 2018 and 2023.
  • Mynor Strong finished one point shy of his career-high.
  • Sean Craig registered his seventh double-double of the season and is one point shy of 1,000 points in his collegiate career.