Fans storm the court after a Keith McLeod three-pointer seals a dramatic win over a team that beat them on the road last year.
Yeah, that was the Michigan game, too.
Keith McLeod sealed his reputation as Bowling Green’s go-to guy in clutch situations in the final seconds of last night’s 84-83 overtime victory over the University of North Carolina-Wilmington in Anderson Arena. With less than 10 seconds to go and trailing 83-81, McLeod freed himself up at the top of the key, got a pass, squared up and let fly. The ball hit the bottom of the net, and the BG crowd launched into a Michigan-esque frenzy that didn’t end until the fans poured onto the court following a UNCW leaner that kicked off the rim as time expired.
The Michigan game officially has a rival for most exciting game of the year in fan debates.
“I don’t mind being the guy that takes the last shot,” McLeod said. “If we lose you can put it all on me. It really doesn’t matter. But I didn’t want to let my teammates down.”
McLeod’s three-pointer capped a see-saw battle in overtime. The Falcons fought through seven lead changes and two ties in the extra period alone to outscore the UNCW Seahawks 11-10. Nine of those points came on three pointers. Erik Crawford and Brandon Pardon hit from beyond the arc in the period’s first two minutes. Crawford fouled out following his three, sending the Seahawks’ Stewart Hare to the free-throw line. He canned both, giving UNCW a 77-76 lead with 3:46 to play.
Pardon’s three was followed by a Tim Burnette lay-up that tied the game 79-79. Len Matela took a feed inside and dropped the ball in to push BG back out in front 81-79, but UNCW got its own long-distance stroke, a three from the hand of Craig Callahan to put itself in front 82-81. Then, off a time out, Cory Ryan shot a loose cannon three from NBA range and missed. BG had to force a foul, sending Brett Blizzard to the line. He split the pair, giving UNCW the 83-81 lead with 13 seconds left.
“That was not a good shot and he?ll be punished,” Dakich said of Ryan.
McLeod’s teammates, intentionally or not, paved the way for him to be the hero of the moment. After the game, amid the waterfall of emotion, he embraced his cousin, Frank McLeod.
“My family really doesn’t get to come up her much to the games,” he said. “My uncle comes to the games, my cousins come to the games. When they got to see me do that, I was like, ‘man.'”
Close games have become a way of life for BG this season, and McLeod has become the ringmaster of the bedlam, a squelcher of stomach acid and preventer of sleepless nights for coach Dan Dakich. Heading into last night’s game, he was averaging 6.3 points in the final six minutes of games.
“What a performance by that kid,” Dakich said of McLeod. “I did think Keith did a wonderful job (defending) Blizzard.”
Blizzard, the centerpiece of UNCW’s scoring attack, still led the game with 22 points.
At the start of the season, Dakich said his team would play grind-it-out basketball. He said they wouldn’t be the type of team to win by 30. At least in the first part of the season, that is proving to be true. If McLeod, a senior, wants to leave a legacy as one of the best clutch players to come through this program, the situation is right. More than anything, the Falcons need him in that role.
