MAC Tournament Quarterfinals: The Game that Matters

Written By: Cameron Fahnestock

Date: 3/13/26

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Game that Matters: Toledo’s Men’s Basketball Survives the Battle of I-75 Against Bowling Green State in the First Round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament.

These two teams are very familiar with one another as they faced off against each other twice in the regular season.

In the first matchup the Toledo Rockets defended home court and got the win 73-72 with Leroy Blyden Jr leading the midnight blue and gold with 19 points and five assist.

In the second matchup, the Bowling Green State Falcons would protect its nest as they would get the win at home winning 80-70. This win was a team effort for the Falcons resulting in four double-digit point performances with Javontae Campbell leading the way with 19 points, five assists, and three steals, making an impact on both sides of the floor.

Bowling Green won the tip, but Toledo came out ready to play from the first whistle, playing smothering man-to-man defense from the first possession. The Rockets pressure would pay off early when Sean Craig found Mynor Strong on the low block for an easy layup, putting Toledo on the board first.

The Rockets offense got in a rhythm quickly in the opening minutes. Sonny Wilson’s ability to create havoc on the defense opened up a lot of perimeter looks, including a drive and kick three pointer from Leroy Blyden Jr. Toledo would also capitalize off some early mistakes by Bowling Green, turning these mistakes into easy points early on.

At the first media timeout, Toledo was perfect from the field going 5-for-5 and 2-2 from the three-point line jumping out to a 12-4 lead with 15:38 remaining in the first half.

Defensively, Toledo was playing aggressive defense making Bowling Green settle into difficult offensive possessions. The Falcons struggled to get any good looks or would take too long to get into a set in this defensive stretch, Bowling Green would shoot 3-7 from the field during this defensive stretch.

After facing early struggles, Bowling Green would start to make some changes starting on the defensive side with switching into a 1-3-1 zone around the 16-minute mark with the hope of causing turnovers.

The Falcons would also start to push the pace after rebounds. Pushing the pace allowed Bowling Green to create easy opportunities. Picking up the pace and experimenting defensively would cause nine fast break points.

The change of pace would also spark a 10-0 Falcon run, Bowling Green during this hot stretch would shoot 6-7 from the field. Toledo offense would stall causing late shot clock situations which would result in Toledo shooting one of their last seven shots.

At this point in the game the twelve point lead Toledo had built was getting diminished and momentum started to change.

With strong performances by Troy Glover and Josiah Shackelford late in the first half, by halftime Bowling Green would claw back and get the lead with the score being 38-37, the Falcons main emphasis being 26 points in the paint and 13 fast break points.

The roles would flip coming into the second half where Bowling Green came back from the half very aggressive and would attack the rim relentlessly. Javontae Campbell’s impact was felt immediately, scoring three straight layups go give the Falcons early momentum.

Toledo wasn’t going anywhere and would stay strong after facing some adversity at the start of the second half.

Minor Strong started to find a rhythm offensively knocking down his patented mid-range jumper multiple times off a high ball screen to give the Rockets some fuel in their tank. At the same time Austin Parks paint presence would begin to be felt as he was playing physical on both ends of the floor.

As the half was progressing, both teams started to struggle with turnovers and pressure. The game became a back-and-forth battle with neither team able to make a strong run.

By the midway point in the second half, Toledo held a slight lead 53-49, with both teams getting into a rhythm and would start to look like a chess match.

With time starting to go down, Leroy Blyden Jr would do what he does best, perform under pressure.

Blyden Jr would catch fire offensively doing things such as being decisive off screens, finishing tough layups, and knocking down the deep three shots. You could see his confidence grow by each possession.

At the final media timeout with 3:40 remaining, Blyden had taken over the game with 19 points, 7-8 shooting, 4-4 from three, 6 rebounds, and would be felt on defense as well with 1 steal and a 1 block.

This fiery stretch by the freshmen would help Toledo stretch the lead to 71-62 putting the game out of reach.

Bowling Green refused to flock away.

The Falcons came back behind good paint touches and clutch shot making on some missed Toledo opportunities. With under a minute remaining a huge step jumper was good by Javon Ruffin, showing his poise. That shot would cut the lead down to 73-72, sending tension through the whole arena.

Moments later, a Toledo turnover gave Bowling Green another opportunity to take the lead.

The Rockets would respond to the turnover with Blyden being aggressive and drove

baseline then would draw contact on his reverse layup attempt which the Falcon fans did not agree with the call. Blyden would clutch up and convert both free throws to push Toledo with the lead.

Bowling Green would have one opportunity to win the game after pushing the ball up the court but would result in a contested layup by Justin Thomas and would roll off the rim.

Final score Toledo 77 Bowling Green 76.

The big factor in the win was Leroy Blyden Jr, when the offense was struggling, he came into the second half with a scoring mentality, and no lights are too bright for this freshmen.