Survive and advance is often the motto for teams in March.
The top-seeded Toledo Rockets did just that— barely— on Thursday morning against the Central Michigan Chippewas in the opening game of the 2022 Mid-American Conference Men’s Tournament at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio, taking home the win by a final score of 72-71.
The game was close throughout with neither having a lead of more than seven points at any time. The Chippewas held the lead 32-30 at the half and the game remained close until JT Shumate and Setric Millner, Jr. hit back-to-back three-pointers for the Rockets, who took their largest lead at 64-57 with 5:57 to play.