Monday, March 06, 2000
Miami upsets top-seeded BG
Grunkemeyer's 30-foot shot prolongs season
BY JEFF CARLTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Mike Ensminger and Jason Grunkemeyer celebrate.
(AP photo)
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CLEVELAND — Miami's strategy against top-seeded Bowling Green was no secret: Establish a slow tempo, don't allow fast-break baskets and hope for a low-scoring game.
And though the plan worked to perfection, it took a completely unscripted 30-foot buzzer-beater from reserve guard Jason Grunkemeyer to save the day.
Grunkemeyer's shot from straight on forced overtime, and No.9 seed Miami pulled out an implausible 58-56 victory Sunday in a quarterfinal game of the Mid-American Conference tournament. The RedHawks will play in the semifinals at 7 p.m. today against Marshall in Gund Arena.
“I don't think you draw up a 30-footer any time for your final shot,” Grunkemeyer said. “I got a good look at it, and thank God it went in.”
“His range is just unbelievable,” Miami coach Charlie Coles said. “From where I was sitting, I couldn't tell if it was going in or not. It's hard to believe.”
A Len Matela jumper put Bowling Green up 56-54 in overtime. Miami went about four minutes without scoring until forward Jason Stewart drilled a 3-pointer with a hand in his face to put his team up 57-56.
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MAC TOURNEY
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Sunday
Miami 58, Bowling Green 56, OT
Marshall 58, Central Michigan 56
Ball St. 64, Toledo 63, OT
Ohio 69, Kent 68
Monday
Miami vs. Marshall, 7 p.m.
Ball State vs. Ohio, 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.
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Rich Allendorf made a free throw to make it 58-56 with 14 seconds left. BG went to Antony Stacey, the school's all-time leading scorer who already had 22 points.
But Stacey got trapped under the hoop and had to call timeout with 5.2 seconds remaining. Falcons coach Dan Dakich drew up a play for Stacey, but he mishandled the pass. A desperation 3 by LaSalle High grad Dave Esterkamp was off the mark.
When the final buzzer sounded, an ecstatic Coles jumped into a bearhug from forward Mike Ensminger.
Miami won despite leading scorer Anthony Taylor being held scoreless.
“Anthony's entitled to an off game,” point guard Rob Mestas said. “We just wish it wasn't in the MAC tournament.”
Mestas and Ensminger filled the offensive void, scoring 17 and 12 points respectively. Ensminger also helped put the clamps on Stacey down the stretch.
The RedHawks (14-14), seeded ninth, stayed alive in their bid to reach the MAC tournament final for a fourth straight year. With one more win, Miami also can avoid its first losing season since 1989-90.
Standing in the way is No.5 seed Marshall (21-8), which needed a last-minute jumper from Travis Young to beat last-place Central Michigan 58-56 Sunday.
Miami split regular-season games with the Thundering Herd, winning 63-58 Jan.26 at Huntington, W.Va., and losing 87-78 Feb.23 in Oxford.
Against BG, Miami took an early lead, thanks largely to Bowling Green's inability to shoot straight. The Falcons entered the game second in the nation in field goal percentage but missed nine of their first 11 shots.
The RedHawks' play silenced the pro-Bowling Green crowd and earned high fives all around from Coles during a first-half timeout. But it wouldn't last for long.
Nine quick points by Stacey sparked a 17-2 Falcons run that put them ahead 23-16. Miami tied it up with six unanswered points until Falcons point guard Brandon Pardon beat the halftime buzzer with a 3-pointer.
The RedHawks edged ahead in the second half, but the Falcons stormed back with an 11-2 run. That put them ahead 54-51, setting the stage for Grunkemeyer's prayer.
MIAMI NOTEBOOK
Marshall 58, Central Michigan 56
MIAMI (58)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Stewart 22 3-9 0-0 0-2 0 1 9
Lethunya 28 2-5 0-0 0-8 1 5 4
Ensminger 42 5-6 2-3 2-7 1 4 12
Mestas 45 6-9 2-2 0-1 3 3 17
Taylor 43 0-9 0-0 2-6 4 2 0
Grunkemeyer 28 4-9 0-0 0-5 3 1 11
Allendorf 17 2-2 1-2 2-3 0 2 5
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 225 22-49 5-7 6-32 12 18 58
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Percentages: FG-.449, FT-.714. 3-Point Goals:
9-23, .391 (Stewart 3-8, Mestas 3-6, Taylor 0-3,
Grunkemeyer 3-6). Team rebounds: 2. Blocked
shots: None. Turnovers: 15 (Mestas 5, Allendorf
3, Stewart 3, Ensminger, Grunkemeyer, Lethunya,
Taylor). Steals: 4 (Ensminger, Grunkemeyer,
Stewart, Taylor).
BOWLING GREEN (56)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Esterkamp 42 2-8 2-2 1-3 0 1 6
Stacey 45 7-18 7-11 2-7 1 3 22
Matela 28 3-8 1-1 1-4 0 2 7
Jackson 39 3-9 0-0 5-8 1 2 6
Pardon 45 3-8 2-2 0-6 3 2 11
Mcleod 21 1-2 2-2 0-2 2 2 4
Black 5 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
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TOTALS 225 19-54 14-18 9-30 7 12 56
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Percentages: FG-.352, FT-.778. 3-Point Goals:
4-16, .250 (Esterkamp 0-2, Stacey 1-4, Jackson
0-1, Pardon 3-7, Mcleod 0-1, Black 0-1). Team
rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 1 (Matela).
Turnovers: 9 (Stacey 4, Esterkamp 2, Jackson,
Matela, Pardon). Steals: 6 (Esterkamp 2, Jackson
2, Stacey 2).
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Miami 23 31 4 - 58
Bowling Green 26 28 2 - 56
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Technical fouls: None. Officials: Randy Drury,
Terry Wymer, Keith Herring.
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