GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – The Green Bay men's basketball team made a valiant bid for its fifth-consecutive win on Sunday afternoon, but Toledo overcame a late six-point deficit to win at the Resch Center in dramatic fashion, 71-69, on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from an unlikely source.
After receiving a combined 53 points from its top two scorers, senior Nathan Boothe (27) and junior Jonathan Williams (26), it was Rockets freshman Jaelan Sanford—who hadn't scored all game— who hoisted the final shot as time expired and found nothing but the bottom of the net to give former Phoenix head coach Tod Kowalczyk a victory in his return to Green Bay.
Senior forward Jordan Fouse (15 pts/13 reb/5 steals) recorded his third double-double of the season to lead the Phoenix, who saw all nine of its players score in the game. Junior Turner Botz (10 points) reached double-figures for the second consecutive game for Green Bay, who was making a bid for back-to-back wins against MAC opponents in the first meeting between the programs since 1992.
Toledo used a hot-shooting first half to take its largest lead of the game with 5:26 remaining before halftime, 39-30; however, the Phoenix closed on an 11-4 run to pull within two going into the locker room, 43-41. Green Bay responded in the second half by ramping up its defensive pressure, and after holding the Rockets scoreless over a four-plus minute stretch, took its largest lead of the day on a jumper from Carrington Love (11 points) with 3:49 left, 68-62.
Clinging to a one-point lead, the Phoenix got a late steal by Khalil Small, who stripped Boothe with 38 seconds to play. After a timeout by head coach Linc Darner, Small missed from the top of the arc with 13 tics left before Williams pushed it ahead to setup the final possession. Toledo ended the game on a 6-0 run over the last 1:29 in regulation.
Green Bay forced 16 Rockets' turnovers, marking the seventh-straight contest it's forced an opponent into double-digit turnovers to begin the season, while its bench outscored Toledo 28-7.
The Phoenix (4-4) will have a nine-day hiatus before returning to the Resch Center for game No. 2 of its three-game home stand on December 15 against Pacific (1-6).
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