Bowling Green State University
Wright State
Falcons Survive At Wright State, 59-56
December 16, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 16, 2006
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FAIRBORN, Ohio--Senior Martin Samarco scored 22 points, but key contributions from four of his teammates late in the game in BGSU's 59-56 win at Wright State, showed that the Falcons can find a way to win without relying solely on the services of the leading scorer in the MAC in crunch time.
Sophomore Dusan Radivojevic hit two key three-pointers to bring the Falcons back from a seven-point deficit with under seven minutes left in the game, senior Matt Lefeld hit two key layups which helped BGSU regain the lead, junior Ryne Hamblet hit a three-bounce off the rim three-pointer with 1:08 to go to give the Falcons the lead for good and sophomore Darryl Clements, who entered the game having shot only one free throw this season, knocked in four charity tosses in the final 28 seconds to seal the win.
"I'm really proud of the way we played down the stretch, especially on the defensive end," said Samarco. "When everyone gets involved the energy level picks up and that was evident today."
The Falcons controlled the first half. BGSU shot 54.5 percent in the first 20 minutes and twice built an 11-point lead, the latest coming on a Hamblet jumper with 2:46 to go to make it 27-16. The Falcons went into intermission with a 29-22 lead.
"I thought this was a very good win for us," said BGSU Coach Dan Dakich. "Brad (Brownell) is one of the best coaches around and this team came in our gym last year and had us down 28-4 and a lot of the same guys are back. I was proud of our guys with the way they competed all week in practice during exam week."
The Raiders came out in the second half and looked more like the team which handed the Falcons a 70-51 loss at Anderson Arena a season ago with a 17-2 run to give WSU a 40-31 lead with 13:38 to go.
However, the Raiders couldn't put the Falcons away and scored the next six points to make it 40-37 on a Samarco layup with 12:15 to go.
After the hosts went up 47-40 with 7:08 remaining, Radivojevic and Samarco hit back-to-back triples to make it 47-46 at the 5:38 mark. Samarco hit two free throws with 3:38 to go to tie the game at 48-48.
After a Raider bucket, Samarco, who also had five assists, found Lefeld inside with 3:02 to go to knot the game up for the third time. WSU's Vaughn Duggins would make one of two charity tosses and Lefeld again hit an easy layup on a pass from Radivojevic to give BGSU its first lead since early in the second half at 52-51 with 2:17 to go.
The Raiders DeShaun Woods, who finished with 23 points, missed a jumper and Lefeld grabbed the rebound with 1:48 left. After a Falcon timeout, Woods stripped Hamblet of the ball and went uncontested for a layup to make give the hosts a 53-52 advantage with 1:32 to go. Hamblet, unfazed, got the ball in the right corner and bounced in a triple to give the Falcons a lead for good at 55-53 at the 1:08 mark.
"I always want the ball in my hands in those game deciding situations," said Hamblet. "After the turnover, we needed to get the lead back and put the pressure on them."
Duggins would again make one of two free throws to halve the lead to 55-54 with 34 seconds left. Clements knocked in a pair of free throws with 28 seconds remaining and Duggins hit a short jumper with nine seconds left to make it 57-56. Clements calmly sank two more free throws and WSU's Todd Brown's potential game-tying three-point attempt bounced off the backboard.
For the game, WSU shot just 1 of 12 from long distance and 29.5 percent overall from the field. BGSU hit on 52.5 percent of its field goal attempts and were eight of 19 from long distance.
"Coach said before the game that whether you played a minute or 40 minutes you needed to play with a sense of urgency," said Clements. "I'm glad to have had the opportunity to make those free throws."
The Falcons improved to 5-3, while Wright State is now 3-5. BGSU will host Northern Colorado at 7 p.m., Tuesday.
"We have a saying that 4.0 students make big plays," said Dakich. "Darryl's not a 4.0 student, but we got Darryl's grades back and they were spectacular. "I'm just proud of him and I thought our guys really competed."
Post Game Notes
BGSU now leads the series 6-5. The Falcons also won on their last visit to the Nutter Center, December 11, 1996.
Coach Dan Dakich tied BGSU Hall of Famer and former Kent State Coach Jim McDonald for 11th on the MAC all-time victory list with 148.
BGSU has won three straight games at Horizon League facilities (2004-at Detroit and Youngstown State).
More than 4,000 fans in attendance were treated to a post-game concert featuring the 90's rock band Survivor.
With his 22 points, Samarco has now scored 20 points or more for 17 times in his career. He has averaged 5.5 assists in his last two games. He also had eight rebounds.
Radivojevic had a career-high 12 points and four three pointers.
Lefeld had six points and made his 42nd career start.
Hamblet had five points, six rebounds and five assists. He leads the MAC in assists and is among the league leaders in defensive rebounds.
Sims had three points and a season-best five rebounds.
Freshman Marc Larson had two points and a season-high four rebounds. He made his second start of the season.
Sophomore Brian Moten had three points and an assist.
Freshman Otis Polk had a basket and a season-high two blocked shots.
Clements' four free throws made and attempted were career high's.
Since the 2001-02 season, BGSU is now 27-5 when having a one possession lead in the final minute of a game and 3-0 this season.
