Sports

Toledo's Boothe accomplishes rare feat in victory over San Jose

Toledo made school history during its 89-74 victory over San Jose State in the men's opener at the GCI Great Alaska Shootout on Thursday at the Alaska Airlines Center.

Center Nathan Boothe battled through double-teams all game en route to Toledo's (3-1) first ever triple-double. The 6-foot-9 senior finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to accomplish the feat basketball fans rarely get to see.

"To be honest with you, the best thing he does is passing," Toledo coach Tod Kowalczyk said of his big man. "He may not welcome a double team — I do as a program and as a coach because we have so many other good players around him and I know he's going to find them."

SJSU's double-team on Boothe allowed junior Jonathan Williams to find consistent scoring opportunities. The 6-3 guard led all scorers with 26 points — 18 of them coming in the first half.

"He played well at both ends," Kowalcyk said of Williams. "That was the best defensive game of his career. That's the Jon-Jon that we need consistently."

SJSU kept the game close through most of the first period. Toledo only led 31-29 with seven minutes left in the period in a half that featured three ties and 12 lead changes. The Rockets expanded their lead to nine points by halftime and never surrendered the lead in the second half.

Forwards Frank Rogers and Ryan Welage led the Spartans (1-3) with 16 points apiece for SJSU. The duo provides a spark to a Spartan team trying to equal its 2014-15 win-total of two this week at the Shootout. SJSU finished in last place in the Mountain West last season with zero conference wins.

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"They're going to be fine," Kowalczyk said. "Dave Wojcik is a good coach, he's doing it the right way. You can tell they play exceptionally hard. They're going to win some games this year."

Meanwhile, Toledo is coming off a 20-win season and 47 wins over the last two years in the Mid-American Conference. The Rockets finished second in the MAC's West Division last season.

Toledo returns to the court in the first semifinal game at 5:30 p.m. Friday. SJSU plays at noon Friday in the consolation semifinal.

UAA's first Shootout game is 5:30 p.m. Thursday. All games are at the Alaska Airlines Center.

Stephan Wiebe

Stephan Wiebe writes about all things Alaska sports.

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