MAC Tournament: Falcons Scream Past Ball State, 69-57

McLeod scores 24 of his 26 points in the second half to lead Bowling Green into the tourney final.




Keith McLeod, left, is congratulated by teammate Kevin Netter after Bowling Green beat Akron 60-58 in the MAC quarterfinals Thursday.

March 8, 2002

By TOM WITHERS
AP Sports Writer

CLEVELAND (AP) - Keith McLeod scored 24 of his 36 points in the second half Friday night, leading Bowling Green to a 69-57 win over Ball State and into the Mid-American Conference tournament final for the first time since 1983.

McLeod, the MAC's Player of the Year, scored 20 of the Falcons' 24 points in a 8:29 stretch of the second half that helped third-seeded Bowling Green (24-7) open a 15-point lead.

Bowling Green, which has never won the tournament, will face top-seeded Kent State (26-5) in the tournament title game Saturday night. The Golden Flashes advanced with a 86-61 win over fourth-seeded Toledo in the first semifinal.

Kent State beat Bowling Green twice during the regular season, 70-67 on Jan. 26 at BG and 76-64 at home on Feb. 4.

The No. 1 seed hasn't won the MAC tourney since 1996.

Len Matela added 19 points and 11 rebounds for Bowling Green, whose only title game appearance came 19 years ago against Ohio. The Falcons' 24 wins are the school's most since 1948-49.

McLeod picked up his third personal foul with 17:30 left, but BG coach Dan Dakich decided not to take his star out and McLeod went on a personal tear to put the Falcons in control.

First, he hit an off-balance jumper in the lane and then made three consecutive 3-pointers as the Falcons opened a 46-37 lead with 10:22 remaining.

He wasn't done, either.

The 6-foot-2 guard then scored nine straight points on two free throws, a 3-pointer and two layups to make it 58-43 with 5:40 to go.

Theron Smith had 19 points and Chris Williams 16 to lead Ball State (20-11), which will now have to sweat out selection Sunday to see if it can get an NCAA tournament bid.

The Cardinals' case will be helped by wins over Kansas and UCLA on consecutive nights at the Maui Classic in November.

McLeod, who made a 3-pointer with six seconds left on Thursday night to help Bowling Green escape with a 60-58 quarterfinal win over Akron, scored 12 points in the first half.

But it was Brandon Pardon's 3-pointer with three seconds left before halftime that gave the Falcons a 30-26 lead at the break.