Balanced Attack Propels Rockets to 77-62 Win over West Georgia

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MIAMI, Fla. – Toledo (1-4) gave first-year Head Coach Gene Cross his first career victory on Wednesday evening with a 77-62 triumph over NCAA Division II foe West Georgia (2-4). The contest was the Rockets’ final game at this week’s O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic hosted by Florida International.

“It feels really good,” Cross said about his first win. “I’m really happy for our guys more than myself. They needed something positive to happen for us to move forward. This will help positively reinforce things we’ve been teaching them.”

Senior G Ridley Johnson led a balanced Rocket attack that saw five players score in double figures with 17 points, one shy of his career high. Senior G Anthony Byrd tallied 13 points, while senior G Jonathan Amos, senior G Tyrone Kent and sophomore F Justin Anyijong scored 10 points apiece.

“Ridley is coming back from an injury and he’s just trying to get into a rhythm,” Cross said. “He’s about four weeks behind because of that, and this is something we expect him to provide us. I’m happy to see him provide us some scoring punch, and his leadership is something we’re going to need as well.”

Toledo dominated the boards with a 47-26 advantage, including 19 on the offensive glass. It was the third straight game the Rockets have outrebounded their opponent. UT also was able to reduce its turnovers dramatically, committing 14 miscues after having 25 in each of its last two contests.

“We were able to move the basketball a lot better and find open guys,” Cross said. “That was evident in the first half when we shot 55 percent. It was also good seeing us attack the glass and receive contributions from a lot of different players.”

Sophomore F Mohamed Lo led the Rockets with a career-high 10 rebounds, with Amos tying his season high with seven and Kent and Byrd collecting six and five boards, respectively. Lo also played a part in the Rockets’ frontline holding the Wolves’ leading scorer, 6-5, 255-pound forward Chris Miller-Williams, to four points and 1-of-9 shooting.

“We threw a lot of bodies at him and tried to frustrate him,” Cross said. “We wanted to front him and get help from the weakside.”

West Georgia came into the contest brimming with confidence following last night’s 57-54 victory over the host Panthers. Toledo fell behind by three points early but a 7-0 run gave the Rockets a 14-7 lead they would not relinquish. UT held a 40-30 advantage at halftime and expanded it to as many as 18 points in the second stanza.

The Rockets will travel to Baltimore, MD on Thanksgiving Day to face America East member UMBC.