Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Ohio
Bowling Green Falls To Ohio, 69-59
March 07, 2007 | Men's Basketball
March 7, 2007
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CLEVELAND - Entering Wednesday's MAC Tournament first round game against Ohio, only senior Matt Lefeld had logged a total of five minutes on the biggest stage the league has to offer, its post season tournament in Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena. Add in the fact that the Falcons were playing an Ohio team with three starters who played significant minutes on the Bobcats 2005 MAC Tourney championship squad and just two weeks ago they handed BGSU a 25-point loss at home and some thought more of the same might happen today.
However, BGSU Coach Dan Dakich has seen the nine players on his squad who are freshmen or sophomores offer signs of maturity and even though the Falcons lost today 69-59 to Ohio, so did everyone elese in attendance.
"I think this team has really grown in the last three weeks," said Dakich. "It's a team that doesn't have the most mature players, but every kid is socially awesome. Practice is a war. That's why I say it's going to be a great team next year."
The Falcons needed their senior leader, guard Martin Samarco to get them kick started, but in the end, a talented group of youngsters shined bright.
Samarco had the hot hand early scoring 10 points in the first half and BGSU led 17-9 on his three-pointer with 11:40 to go. Ohio went on a 15-0 run and led 24-17 with 5:51 remaining in the half. Sophomore Nate Miller, who finished with a team-high 16 points and 10 rebounds, made a layup to end the drought. Sophomore Dusan Radivojevic, who has struggled in MAC play with his three-point shot hit two key triples to bring the Falcons to within one point at 26-25 with 2:27 before halftime. After a layup by the Bobcats Sonny Troutman gave OU a 28-25 lead with 2:00 to go, neither team would score the rest of the half.
The Falcons tied the score at 32-32 with 17:32 to go on sophomore Brian Moten's three-pointer, one of a career-high four on the night. Junior Ryne Hamblet would get a steal and an uncontested dunk to give BGSU its only lead of the second half at 34-32 with 17:14 left.
Ohio's Buuba Walther took over and made three long distance bombs in the next minute-plus as the Bobcats led 41-36 with 15:56 to go. Unfazed, BGSU held its ground and another Moten bomb tied the score at 43-43 with 14:14 left in the game.
"I think the game turned when Walther hit his three three's," said Dakich. "I think we were in the process of gaining momentum."
Ohio would score the next 11 points and had its biggest lead at 57-45 with 6:48 to go. The Falcons would cut it to 64-59 with 1:12 to go on a Hamblet layup. After a free throw by Ohio's Jerome Tillman made it 65-59, BGSU would attempt to slice into the lead, but Hamblet's three-point attempt rimmed out and BGSU got no closer.
"I knew it was going to be a tough game," said Ohio Coach Tim O'Shea. "Its always tough to beat a team three times in a year. I thought Bowling Green really played well in their last outing with Miami (on Sunday in their last regular season game) so I wasn't at all surprised that that it was as tough a game as it was."
