Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Minnesota
Late Rally Not Enough As BGSU Falls To Minnesota
November 16, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 16, 2008
Minneapolis, Minn. - Minneapolis, Minn. - The Minnesota men's basketball team took Bowling Green State University out of its game early and held off the Falcons in a 68-61 win Saturday evening on day two of the NABC Classic.
The Golden Gophers led by as many as 20 points in the first half but Bowling Green closed to within three late in the contest. After Lawrence Westbrook missed a three-point attempt with under three minutes to play, Bowling Green corralled the rebound and had the chance to get even closer. But Westbrook atoned for his miss with a steal and easy lay-up to put Minnesota back up by five. Bowling Green would not get back within three the rest of the way.
"Our guys showed a lot of heart and courage," head coach Louis Orr said about the team's comeback. "They have pride. We got hit by a flurry early, but once we got our composure, we didn't quit."
After falling behind 34-14, Bowling Green found some rhythm late and cut the deficit to 14 at the half at 36-22. Senior Darryl Clements scored more than half of the Falcons first-half points, picking up 12. Minnesota used a fierce interior defense to block 10 of their school-record 17 shots in the first half, seven by Colton Iverson.
"When you've got shot blockers, it makes a difference," Orr said. "They've got some big guys and they make it tough to score around the hoop. But when you play against shot blockers, you've got to be fundamental, on-balance, and use your pump fakes."
Bowling Green shot just 26 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes and made only 1-of-7 three-pointers just one night after making 11-of-21 from long range.
The Falcons slowly chipped away at the lead in the second half and got back within single digits on a Clements bucket with 13:49 to play that made the score 42-34. Minnesota still led by 10, at 54-44 with 6:32 to play, but BGSU locked down defensively to cut into the deficit.
The Golden Gophers made just one basket over the next four minutes and freshman Dee Brown sparked the offensive effort with a clutch three-pointer. Clements' basket with 4:06 to go made it 55-52 and, after a Minnesota basket, Marc Larson made two free-throws to make the score 57-54 before Westbrook's steal and lay-up.
After scoring a career-high 24 points one night early, point guard Joe Jakubowski had just two shot attempts in the first half and finished with 12 points.
"I give Minnesota credit," Orr said. "Their defense is good. Al Nolan is a good defender and we got sped up a little bit, but I thought Darryl Clements did a good job keeping us in there early. Then Joe got his composure back and he was able to get some shots later."
Clements finished with a team-high 19 points and added five rebounds, five assists and four steals. Otis Polk added a game-high 14 rebounds and Brian Moten finished with 10 points. Erik Marschall just missed a double-double for the second consecutive night, posting nine points and nine rebounds.
Minnesota improves to 2-0 on the season and Bowling Green falls to 1-1. The Falcons will play Concordia St. Paul at 4:00 p.m. central time Sunday in the final day of the NABC Classic.
