Bowling Green State University
CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Chippewas Snap Falcon Home Winning Streak
January 06, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 6, 2001
Bowling Green, Ohio - Central Michigan, playing its first game in 17 days, outscored Bowling Green, 13-5 over the final 3:20 to hand the Falcons its first home loss in 20 games (fifth longest active streak in the country), 92-85, Saturday afternoon.
CMU is now 7-3 and 1-0 in the MAC, while BGSU is 5-6 and 1-1.
"It was a great team effort," said CMU coach Jay Smith. "To have that big a layoff and come back the way we did, we didn't miss a beat."
CMU built a nine-point lead in the first half, at 26-17, with 9:37 remaining. The Falcons chipped away and the teams went into the intermission tied at 43-43.
BGSU came out of the gate strong in the second half and led 56-49 with 15:11 remaining on a layup by junior Len Matela. The Chippewas were able to battle back as the teams played even for the next 12 minutes. A Matela free throw with 3:31 left gave BGSU its last lead at 80-79 and CMU's senior guard Jon Borovich nailed a three-pointer with 3:20 left and the Chippewas became the first team since Ohio defeated the Falcons, 75-68, on January 23, 1999 to leave Andereson Arena victorious.
"My hat is off to Central Michigan," said BGSU coach Dan Dakich. "I thought they came in with a real determination to play and played really well. They out-toughed us at the end."
Junior guard David Webber led CMU with 21 points and nine rebounds and sophomore forward Chad Pleiness added 16 points and eight rebounds. The Falcons were paced by junior guard Keith McLeod with 25 points and junior guard Brandon Pardon who had 17 points.
CMU outshot BGSU 55.8 percent to 47.5 percent and won the battle of the boards, 38-25. The Chippewas outrebounded the Falcons, 24-11 in the second half.
BGSU will host Buffalo in another MAC contest, Wednesday evening.
