If a Valparaiso player went up for a shot in Monday night’s game, it seemed as if UH senior forward Tafari Toney was there to meet him.
If a Valparaiso player reached out for a rebound, Toney was there to muscle it away from him.
If a Valparaiso player made a wrong move, Toney made him pay for it by throwing down a vicious dunk.
Toney was a thorn in the Crusaders’ sides for much of Monday night’s game, and because of this, Valparaiso was never a threat to stop the Cougars’ run of dominance in the second half.
Toney had one of his best games of the season, scoring 10 points with game-highs of 12 rebounds and three blocks in UH’s 91-67 win over Valparaiso in the quarterfinals of the inaugural College Basketball Invitational at Hofheinz Pavilion.
Toney, who recorded his second career double-double, also had two dunks and provided a strong defensive presence in the middle that helped limit Valparaiso to a measly 36.4 field goal percentage in the second half.
"He’s one of the best forwards in Conference USA," UH head coach Tom Penders said. "He’s healthy, he’s a warrior and when he doesn’t get the quick whistle blown on him, he’s able to stay on the floor. He’s something special."
The 6-foot-8, 241-pound Toney was special in the second half, where he grabbed eight of his rebounds and had all three of his blocks. He threw down his second dunk with 16:08 left in the game, spurring the Cougars on a 21-14 run that put them ahead 78-54 with 7:37 remaining.
His strong play on the inside made life miserable for the Valparaiso guards, who drove to the basket at will in the first half but couldn’t replicate that success in the second half.
"Coach told us that they had some height out there, and you can’t go in there and show fear," Toney said. "You have to be relentless on the boards. We have to play loose and you do that and you can beat anybody."
Interestingly, Monday’s game was only the third all season in which Toney has pulled down double-digit rebounds. His only other double-digit rebound outings came against Texas-El Paso (14) on Jan. 19 and Southern Miss (12) on Feb. 27.
This is primarily the case because Toney’s time on the court is usually limited because of foul trouble. He has averaged only 21.7 minutes per game this season.
But Monday night was different with Toney playing 34 minutes, and that’s what senior guard Robert "Fluff" McKiver hopes to see more of down the stretch.
"I mean, I’ve been playing with him for three years (including their one year at San Jacinto College), and I am used to seeing that," said McKiver, who scored a game-high 33 points. "It’s just about him bringing it on like that every day and really believing in himself. When he believes in himself, I think he’s one of the best forwards around.
"I mean, everybody looks at the 33 points or whatever, but him rebounding, playing hard and being a force down low was the big key tonight."
