Jan. 27, 2008

Box Score

Bowling Green 63, Northern Illinois 59 in PDF Format

Bowling Green, Ohio - Keyed by a late-game pair of steals and break-away lay-ups by guard Joe Jakubowski and forward Nate Miller, Bowling Green scored the game's final seven points and rallied for the 63-59 Mid-American Conference victory over Northern Illinois at Anderson Arena on Sunday afternoon.

Miller led the Falcons with 17 points, while Jakubowski added 14 points, including three treys, in the victory. Chris Knight, the leading freshman scorer in the MAC, added 12 points, while Brian Moten added 10 points off the bench for BGSU.

With the victory, Bowling Green improves to 9-9 overall and 4-2 in MAC play, while the Huskies fall to 5-13 on the campaign and 2-4 in conference action.

NIU freshman guard Darion Anderson (Chicago, Ill./Carver Military Academy) topped the Huskies with a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds. Huskie senior center Egan Grafel (Oberlin, Kan./Decatur Community/Cloud County C.C.) added 11 points and six rebounds in the loss.

Anderson tallied NIU's final five points of the game, as his lay-up with 4:21 left in the contest gave the Huskies a 59-56 advantage. Miller brought the Falcons to within one, as he posted a lay-up at the 3:52 mark, cutting NIU's lead to 59-58.

Both teams would trade scoreless possessions back and forth, before Jakubowski picked the pocket of NIU junior guard Jarvis Nichols (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North/Pratt C.C.) and went the distance for the go-ahead lay-up, giving BGSU the 60-59 lead with 1:15 left in the contest.

NIU was unable to score on the ensuing possession, and sent Jakubowski to the free throw line with 19 seconds left for the one-and-one. Jakubowski hit the front end, but was unable to convert the second, giving the Falcons the 61-59 lead.

The game was a clean-played contest that featured 19 fouls for the entire game. Prior to the final 19 seconds of the game, the Falcons had five fouls to give after just earning one whistle in the second stanza. 

Bowling Green did not allow the Huskies a chance for the winning shot, as they committed three consecutive fouls, before Miller picked NIU guard Michael Patton (Boulder, Colo./Boulder/Solebury School (PA)) clean and clinched the game with a breakaway dunk with two seconds left in the game.

"I wish I could have sat in the stands, watched the game and enjoyed it a little more," NIU head men's basketball coach Ricardo Patton said. "Give credit to Bowling Green. They did a terrific job in staying with their game plan, coming down the stretch and making plays at the end.

"I thought our kids played hard and with confidence," Patton continued. "Unfortunately for us, they had [five] fouls to give with a limited amount of time left on the clock. That enabled them to continue to foul without penalty."

NIU finished with 44 rebounds on the afternoon, marking a team-season high for the Huskies. Their previous high of 42 was set against both Cal Poly and Arkansas-Little Rock.

Northern Illinois is back in action on Wednesday, January 30, as they welcome Miami (OH) to the NIU Convocation Center for a 7 p.m. (CST) tip-off.

##NIU##