.png&type=webp)
Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
AKRON
Zips Hold Off Falcons, 65-56
February 16, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 16, 2008
Final Stats |
Orr & Knight postgame audio
BGSU-Akron Boxscore in PDF Format 
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - The University of Akron withstood a Bowling Green State University second-half run, holding off the Falcons by a 65-56 count Saturday afternoon (Feb. 16). The Mid-American Conference game was held at venerable Anderson Arena.
With the win, the Zips improve to 18-7 overall and 8-4 in MAC play. The Falcons drop to 11-13 and 6-6, respectively.
The Brown and Orange overcame a 10-point second-half deficit to tie the score, and BG took a three-point lead with under eight minutes to go. But, the Zips would rally, scoring 12 of their final 16 points at the free-throw line.
The Falcons had a better field-goal percentage than UA in each half, and BG owned a 41-33 rebounding advantage. But, BG committed 18 turnovers and went just 11-for-22 from the free-throw line.
Three Zips -- Nate Linhart, Cedrick Middleton and Nick Dials -- scored 14 points apiece, while Chris McKnight was also in double digits, with a 10-point afternoon.
For the Falcons, junior Brian Moten had a game-high 15 points off the bench, while classmate Nate Miller scored 13. Redshirt freshman Chris Knight had a double-double, with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Falcons got on the board first, with a Miller jumper on the opening possession, but Linhart scored the game's next five points, on a three-pointer and a two-point jumper.
Sophomore Marc Larson's tip-in cut the UA lead to 5-4 at the afternoon's first media timeout, and a free throw by the Mattawan, Mich., native tied the score just out of that break.
A Dials three-pointer gave the visitors the lead, but Miller answered with a triple of his own, tying the score at 9-9. But, Chris McKnight's jumper began a 7-0 run for the visitors, with Linhart adding a trey and Middleton converting a layup with exactly 10 minutes elapsed.
Freshman Cameron Madlock stopped that run with a basket, but Middleton's triple gave UA an eight-point lead. That lead grew to double digits when Chris McKnight canned a jumper with 8:40 left before halftime.
Moten hit a jumper with just under eight minutes remaining in the period, beginning a 9-2 run for the home team. Another Moten triple, off an assist by junior Darryl Clements, cut UA's lead to 23-18 with five minutes remaining, and Knight knocked down a pair of free throws just 15 seconds later.
With just over two minutes left, Miller's coast-to-coast drive and layup in traffic cut the Zips' lead to a single point, 25-24. But, Akron would score six of the last eight points of the half, culminating with a Steve McNees layup just before the horn sounded, and UA took a 31-26 advantage into the lockerroom.
In the first half, the Zips owned a 21-4 advantage in points off turnovers, as the Falcons had 12 first-half turnovers to the visitors' five.
UA threatened to break the game open early in the second half. After a sloppy first few minutes of play which saw several turnovers and offensive fouls, the Zips scored first on a transition layup by Chris McKnight. A Quade Milum jumper gave UA a nine-point lead at the 17:13 mark, and the visitors went ahead on another Milum hoop at the 16:29 mark.
The Falcons, however, proceeded to go on a 10-0 run to tie the game. That run began innocently enough, with a jumper by freshman Joe Jakubowski. Then, the freshman fed Knight for a long two-pointer at the 15:21 mark.
After a BG defensive stop, Knight grabbed a teammate's miss in traffic and laid the ball off the glass, and UA's lead was down to four points.
On Akron's next possession, sophomore Otis Polk blocked a shot -- one of eight rejections for the Falcons on the day -- and classmate Ryan Sims grabbed the rebound and spotted Knight downcourt. Sims' pass led to a Knight layup with 14:32 on the clock.
On the next possession, Polk blocked back-to-back shots, with the second block leading to another Sims rebound. At the other end of the court, Jakubowski's jumper was true, and the game was tied at 37-37 with just under 14 minutes remaining.
Several times, the Zips forged ahead by two or three points, but the Falcons fought back. Chris McKnight hit two free throws over a 26-second span, but Polk answered with a layup. Middleton drilled a three-pointer, but Moten split two tosses, then hit a jumper in transition, and the teams were deadlocked at 42-all.
Dials knocked down a shot, but Knight got an offensive rebound and a layup at 9:51. Milum split a pair of free throws, but Miller followed his own miss and got a putback in traffic. For the first time since the game's opening minute, the Falcons led, 46-45, at the 8:56 mark.
A Miller layup gave BG a three-point lead, and after Middleton answered, Miller found Moten for a layup on the break, and BG's lead was 50-47 with 6:13 remaining.
The Zips, however, got a Milum jumper and two Dials free throws to retake the lead. Knight's jump shot with 2:31 left gave BG the lead, 52-51, but that would be the Falcons' final advantage of the afternoon.
Middleton scored four-straight points, hitting a jumper at 2:10, then converting a layup at the 1:32 mark. Jakubowski went to the line and made two free throws with 1:12 remaining, but, as Dials rose for a right-elbow three-point attempt on the ensuing possession, the Falcons were called for a foul. Dials hit all three of his free-throws, giving UA a four-point lead with 47.2 seconds left.
BG's next possession resulted in a missed shot, and UA got the rebound, forcing the Falcons to foul. Mike Bardo hit both of his free-throw tries, giving the Zips a 60-54 lead.
Clements made a layup, but Linhart made two tosses after BG committed another foul. In all, the Zips went 10-of-11 free throws in the game's final 47-plus seconds, not missing until just four seconds were left in the game. The aforementioned Clements layup was as close as the Falcons were able to get in the final minutes of play.
BGSU shot 42.0 percent from the field for the game, to the Zips' 38.2% for the afternoon. The Falcons also had a 41-33 rebounding advantage, with Knight grabbing 11, Miller nine and Larson seven. Larson's total tied his career high.
Polk and Larson each had three blocks on the day.
The Zips also blocked eight shots, led by Chris McKnight's three. Linhart had nine rebounds to pace the visitors.
The Falcons now prepare for a Tuesday (Feb. 19) game at Ohio University, as BGSU will end the regular-season with five of the final six games on the road. BG's lone remaining home game comes vs. Kent State on March 1.
