Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Fordham
Men's Basketball Rallies Past Fordham, 65-59
January 03, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 3, 2009
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Miller/Moten Postgame Audio
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green men's basketball team held Fordham to just two points over the final 3:37 and defeated the Rams 65-59 Saturday in the team's final tune-up before beginning conference play. Seniors Nate Miller and Brian Moten combined for 13 of the team's final 14 points in the win.
Fordham's Chris Bethel made a pair of free-throws that cut Bowling Green's once-comfortable 11-point lead to just two points with 3:37 to go, but the Falcons buckled down defensively and narrowly came away with the win. On the ensuing possession, Miller was fouled and went to the line. Although he had made just 1-of-5 free-throw attempts prior to that trip, he knocked down both and gave the Falcons a 61-57 lead.
The two teams traded empty trips down the floor until Miller again came up big, scoring on a jumper with 48 seconds left to make it 63-57. Fordham's Jio Fontan made a lay-up for two of his game-high 20 points with 13 seconds remaining, but Moten connected on a pair of free-throws with nine seconds left to ice the game.
Miller ended with a season-high 17 points and added eight rebounds, three assists and two steals in 30 minutes. Moten finished with 13 points, making 3-of-5 three-pointers. Sophomore Chris Knight came off the bench to grab 14 rebounds, five on the offensive glass, to help Bowling Green to a 40-29 rebounding advantage on the afternoon.
Although BGSU entered the game with a 4-0 record at home and had defeated those opponents by an average of 22.3 points per game, Fordham was the team that jumped out quickly, building an early 8-2 lead after a three-point play by Fontan.
Bowling Green battled back but was unable to take the lead until Joe Jakubowski knocked down a three-pointer with 4:53 to play that gave the Falcons a 22-21 advantage. Bethel came right back with a three-pointer and the lead swung back-and-forth throughout the remainder of the half. The Rams scored the final five points of the session on a three-pointer from Mike Moore and a lay-up by Bethel to make it 32-29 Fordham at the break.
In the second half, BGSU used an eight-point run to take a 46-38 lead behind a pair of Moten three-pointers and an Erik Marschall lay-up and the Falcons never trailed again. Otis Polk's lay-up gave Bowling Green a 51-40 lead with 11:02 to go but Fordham chipped away at the deficit, eventually getting within two with 3:37 to play.
Bowling Green shot 44 percent for the game and held Fordham to 39 percent shooting. The Falcons also made 6-of-14 three-pointers and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, which turned into 20 second-chance points.
Fordham drops to 2-10 on the season and Bowling Green improves to 7-6. The Falcons will host Buffalo Saturday in their Mid-American Conference opener at 2 p.m.
