Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
MARSHALL
Men's Basketball Wins Fifth Straight, 82-69
February 14, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 14, 2001
Bowling Green, OH - The Bowling Green men's basketball team won its fifth straight contest and improved to 11-10 overall and 7-5 in the Mid-American Conference with an 82-69 win over Marshall. The Thundering Herd drop to 14-8, 8-6 MAC with the defeat. The game was held at BGSU's venerable Anderson Arena.
"The key to the game tonight was us withstanding the first part of the game when they came out smoking," said BGSU head coach Dan Dakich. "We didn't get rattled, we didn't get upset, we were able to sustain our defense the whole game."
Marshall hit seven of its first eight shots in bulding a 17-8 advantage in the first five minutes of the game. BGSU outscored the Herd, 31-15, over the rest of the half and went into the locker room with a 39-32 advantage when junior Brandon Pardon (Middle Point, OH) buried a three-pointer at the buzzer.
Junior Len Matela (Merrillville, IN) scored a team-high 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead four Falcon players in double figures. Classmate Keith McLeod (Canton, OH) poured in 20, thanks in part to an 11 for 12 effort at the free-throw line.
Another junior, Brent Klassen (Kimball, NE) established a new career high in points with 13, while sophomore Cory Ryan (Fountain City, IN) added 10.
For the visiting Herd, senior Travis Young and junior Tamar Slay each scored 19 points, while junior J.R. VanHoose added 15 points and 12 boards.
Marshall was able to cut the lead to six in the second half, making the score 57-51 with 12:46 remaining, but BGSU outscored the visitors, 17-6, in the next six minutes to seal the victory.
With the win, the Falcons keep themselves right in the hunt in East Division of the MAC. BGSU will look to extend its streak to six in a row when they travel to Ypsilanti, MI on Saturday to battle Eastern Michigan. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. The Falcons return home on Tuesday, February 20, when the first place Kent State Golden Flashes comes to town for an 8:00 p.m. tip-off.
