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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Concordia St. Paul
Seniors Rise to Occasion on Final Day of NABC Classic
November 16, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 16, 2008
Minneapolis, Minn. - The Bowling Green men's basketball team smothered Concordia St. Paul defensively, forcing the Golden Bears to miss 18 of its first 20 shots. From there, the Falcons cruised to an 82-61 win Sunday in the final day of the NABC Classic, hosted by the University of Minnesota.
Senior Darryl Clements scored 22 points, setting his career-high for the second consecutive night, and the other active senior, Brian Moten, added 19 as BGSU jumped out to a 38-19 halftime lead. Concordia St. Paul made a pair of early three-pointers, but the Falcons tightened the screws defensively and went on an 18-2 run to go ahead 26-8. Bowling Green blocked four shots in the first half, keeping the Golden Bears from getting easy lay-ups.
"We need our seniors to lead," Bowling Green head coach Louis Orr said. "Darryl had great leadership and played with a great deal of confidence. Brian Moten really stepped up this weekend and made some big shots."
Although Concordia St. Paul is an NCAA Division II school, the Golden Bears pushed Georgia State to the limit one day ago, losing by only four points. But Bowling Green never led by less than 14 in the second half and was able to get playing time for its entire active roster.
Freshman Scott Thomas played 23 minutes and scored the first points of his career, finishing with five points and three rebounds. Juniors Ryan Sims and Matt Karaffa saw their first action of the season. Sims had two points, three assists and a rebound in eight minutes.
Bowling Green's defense keyed the team early, holding Concordia St. Paul to just 31 percent shooting for the year. The Falcons forced 17 turnovers and held the Golden Bears to only 6-of-19 three-pointers.
"We knew they had two guys who had the ability to score in Craig Heiman and Matt Cadwell," Orr said. "Those two guys had two of the biggest scoring games in the tournament, but we wanted to come out and establish ourselves defensively right away. They really took that to heart."
BGSU shot 51 percent from the field and made 7-of-15 three-pointers. The Falcons were also 13-of-14 from the free-throw line and shared the ball well, finishing with 20 assists for the second time in the tournament.
Concordia St. Paul falls to 0-2 on the season and Bowling Green improves to 2-1. The Falcons will host Wayne State Thursday at 7 p.m. in Anderson Arena for the 2008-09 home opener.
