Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Marist
Falcons Hold Off Marist, 61-58
December 01, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 1, 2001
Bowling Green, Ohio - Senior Len Matela had 21 points and tied a career-high with 17 rebounds to lead host Bowling Green to a 61-58 victory over Marist, Saturday at Anderson Arena. BGSU wins its fourth straight game and improves to 5-1, while Marist falls to 4-2.
The Falcons trailed just twice in the game, but could not put away the Red Foxes who are a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. BGSU led by as many as 10 points in the first half but went into intermission with a 27-19 lead.
A three-pointer by Keith McLeod and a free throw by Matela gave BGSU its largest lead of the game at 31-19 with 18:04 remaining. BGSU led 52-41 with 6:40 left but Marist, behind the hot shooting of sophomore Nick Eppehimer, who finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, and 10 second-half points from All-American candidate Sean Kennedy, was able to cut the lead to 56-54 with 2:06 remaining. Following a BGSU turnover, senior Rick Smith had a chance to give Marist the lead, but missed a wide-open look from three point range with just under a minute to play.
A free throw by Matela with 53 seconds and two free throws by Erik Crawford with 24 seconds left appeared to have sealed the win for BGSU as they led 59-54. Two quick baskets by the Red Foxes and a two-for-four performance at the free throw line by McLeod allowed Marist one final chance to send the game into overtime. With Kennedy on the bench after fouling out with nine seconds remaining, it was junior David Bennett who attempted the game tying three-pointer which was short and allowed BGSU to escape.
The Falcons will visit Duquesne on Wednesday night in Pittsburgh. BGSU returns home December 10 to face North Carolina-Wilmington at 7 p.m.
