Central Michigan University Athletics
Central Michigan University
Bowling Green
Bowling Green Nips Men's Basketball In Heartbreaker, 82-81
1/3/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 3, 2002
MOUNT PLEASANT -- Bowling Green's Keith McLeod entered the Mid-American Conference opener on Thursday as the MAC's leading scorer with 22.5 points per game.
And it was McLeod who came up with clutch baskets as Bowling Green (11-1, 1-0 MAC) edged out Central Michigan, 82-81, in Rose Arena to extend BGSU's winning streak to 10 games.
McLeod battled foul trouble the first half, playing only four minutes because of two early fouls. His only bucket of the first half was a layup that opened scoring right off the jump.
The senior guard was held in check for most of the second half and he picked up his fourth foul with with 15 minutes left.
But, McLeod would go on a game-winning tear as CMU led by four with 3:25 left.
The shooting guard hit back-to-back three-pointers to tie the score at 74 and then hit another to give the Falcons a 78-76 lead. Following a field goal by Gerrit Brigitha which tied the score, McLeod answered again with a jumper that gave BGSU a two-point lead with 31 seconds left.
With the shot clock off, Central Michigan went for the final shot of the game but on a drive to the hole, David Webber lost the ball and Bowling Green headed in the other direction as McLeod was fouled with 0.9 seconds left.
CMU called a time out before McLeod's free throws and after the break he nailed both freebies to give the Falcons a four-point lead.
The Chippewas then inbounded the ball the length of the court to J.R. Wallace who drilled a three-pointer as time expired to give Bowling Green the one-point win.
McLeod finished the game with 19 points while Bowling Green point guard Brandon Pardon added 20 points and seven assists.
Webber led the Chippewas with a game-high 22 points and a team-high five assists.
Len Matela added 13 points and eight boards for the Falcons. BGSU shot 54 percent from the floor in the game and 61 percent (11-for-18) from three-point range.
Brigitha, starting in place of the injured Chris Kaman who remained out with a foot injury, posted 16 points and eight rebounds. Wallace and Chad Pleiness each had 12 points and Mike Manciel added nine rebounds.
Bench play was big for CMU in the first half as Wallace led CMU on a 9-0 run by scoring seven of the points in just under a four minute stretch.
The Falcons jumped out to a quick 11-point lead in the first five minutes of the game before Wallace sparked the Chippewas and CMU cut the lead to just two with 10:46 left in the half.
Central finally tied the score at 31 on a layup by Pleiness with 3:59 left before the break.
CMU had the final shot of the half but Wallace's try was off the mark and the two teams went to the locker room tied at 37.
The second half had nine ties with the last one coming with 43 seconds left in the game.
Three-point shooting was one significant difference in the game. Bowling Green nailed 11 three-pointers while shooting 61 percent while CMU hit only six threes at a 27 percent clip.
The Chippewas gun for their first MAC win on Saturday when they host Miami as part of a doubleheader with the women's team. The Chippewa women host Bowling Green at 1 p.m., and the men tip off with the RedHawks at 3:30 p.m.
The men's game can be seen live in northern Michigan on the CMU PBS Network.
