Toledo basketball forged ahead in the final minutes but came up just short at Arkansas State in first game of season
The Toledo Rockets fought until the final seconds and nearly pulled off a win but came up just short in a heartbreaking 71-70 loss to the Arkansas State Red Wolves in the regular season opener at the First National Bank Arena on Monday.
Toledo guard Mynor Strong tallied a career-best 18 points and four steals, while forward Jaylan Ouwinga finished with a career-high 16 points and 14 rebounds, and forward Angel Montas Jr. recorded 16 points and 10 rebounds in his debut.
It was a tightly-contested matchup throughout the game as Arkansas State took a 36-35 lead heading into halftime.
Both teams traded punches in the second half and Toledo even seized ahead with an impressive run in the final minutes.
Montas slipped in the paint and scored a clutch go-ahead layup to put the Rockets up 68-67 with just 1:36 remaining.
Just moments later, Ouwinga drilled a game-tying jumper on the baseline to tie the game 70-70 with 30 seconds to go.
However, Arkansas State forged ahead as guard Tameron Ferguson hit a go-ahead free throw with four seconds left.
Toledo had an opportunity for a potential game-winning shot, but a last-second turnover handed Arkansas State the win.
It was certainly a crushing loss for the Rockets, who were hoping to start the regular season with a marquee win, specifically because the upcoming schedule is so difficult and it’s going to be a challenge to secure early-season victories.
Toledo finished with more assists (21-15), rebounds (50-46) and points in the paint (28-26) than Arkansas State, but the Rockets lost the turnover battle (16-10) and that proved costly as the Red Wolves took advantage of those mistakes.
Now, Toledo will try to pull off a massive upset at the No. 6 Michigan State Spartans at the Breslin Center on Thursday.
The Rockets will be heavy underdogs so it would be a shocking upset, but crazier things have happened in college basketball.
Toledo and Michigan State have played 10 times, with the Rockets holding a 3-7 all-time record against the Spartans.
Most recently, Toledo lost 92-69 at Michigan State last season. The last time the Rockets upset the Spartans was in 2002.