Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Delaware
Bowling Green Basketball Third In Top Of The World
November 18, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Nov 18, 2001
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - Keith McLeod made two free throws to break a tie with 48 seconds left and Bowling Green beat Delaware 73-70 Sunday for third place in the Top of the World Classic.
Josh Almanson added 21 points, including 17 in the first half, off the bench for Bowling Green (2-1).
Reserve Mike Ames led Delaware (1-2) with 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range.
McLeod, the tournament's leading scorer with an average of 30.5 points through the first two games, scored only eight but his field goal with two minutes left gave the Falcons a 70-68 lead.
Delaware's Austen Rowland tied it on a pair of free throws with 1:42 left. But after McLeod's free throws, Rowland missed a 3-point shot as the shot clock expired.
Bowling Green's Brandon Pardon hit 1-of-2 free throws for the final margin. Delaware had a chance to tie, but Ames missed a long 3-point attempt with two seconds remaining.
The first half featured 13 lead changes and eight ties before Delaware's offense struggled. The Blue Hens went without scoring for the final three minutes of the half and Bowling Green took a 40-34 lead.
Delaware's shooting woes continued at the start of the second half and the Blue Hens did not make a field goal until almost 5 minutes in.
Bowling Green increased its lead to 54-38 with just under 13 minutes left before a 17-6 run pulled the Blue Hens to 64-63 with six minutes to play. Rowland tied it 68-68 on a 3-point shot from the baseline with 3:21 to play.
