YPSILANTI, MI – The Bowling Green Men’s Basketball team improved to 7-7 and a perfect 1-0 start in Mid-American Conference play with a 91-65 victory over the Eastern Michigan Eagles, which marks the team’s seventh straight victory against the Eagles. 

BG got off to a strong start and didn’t let go, scoring the first six points of the game and continued to build on it. The Falcons looked nothing short of dominant from tipoff to the buzzer, leading for 98.5% of the game, the only tie being at the beginning of the game when the teams were even at 0-0. They showed stout defense, taking away EMU’s strong suit, the three-point ball, and forced them to drive inside where there was a very clear size advantage in favor of BG. The Falcons held the Eagles, a team that shot 35% from beyond the arc going into this game, to 25% shooting from deep in the first half  and 3-22 across the whole game (13.6%).  

The Falcons held a 45-34 lead going into halftime and didn’t let up from there. The smallest deficit of the second half for EMU was eight points, which only lasted one possession before Chandler Turner drained a three to bring BG’s lead back to double digits, where it stayed until the final buzzer.  

Eastern Michigan’s Emoni Bates, who is the MAC’s leading scorer at 20.8 points per game, was held to 15 points on 2-14 shooting from the field, but to his credit he was able to get himself to the free throw line 14 times, converting 11 of his attempts. Bates was still the leading scorer for the Eagles, adding five rebounds to his stat line. Not a single player for EMU recorded more than one assist, and they finished with only five assists the whole game. 

Leon Ayers III continued to be the Falcons’ main source of offense, putting up 24 points on 10-17 shooting. Chandler Turner led the team in rebounds, collecting 10 boards to go with 14 points of his own. Rashaun Agee was once again the anchor on defense, setting a new career high in blocks, rejecting five shots overall. BG put on a clinic, shooting 53% from the field and 43.5% from downtown.  

A hot start to MAC play is just what this BG team needed to build confidence. 

“It was the best game we played this year,” Head Coach Michael Huger said. “We had a really nice conversation leading up to today and the biggest thing we talked about was turning defense into offense and having pride in our defense, knowing it’s the best feeling when you can keep a team from scoring and then you’re able to score on the other end. There’s no better feeling than that. The bench was so involved in the game, cheering on their teammates. This is the best we’ve been all year. It seems like we’re putting it together. I’m just happy for the guys, so proud of the guys and what they did and how hard they played.” 

Bowling Green improves to 7-7 overall this season, picking up a key W in the first conference matchup of the season. They have four days to prepare before the Ohio Bobcats (8-6, 0-1 MAC) make their way up to the Stroh on Jan. 7th. Eastern Michigan falls to 3-11 (0-1 MAC) with the loss, and they’ll look to regroup before the Central Michigan Chippewas (10-4, 1-0 MAC) visit on Jan. 7th.  

For more information about the team, visit the team’s page on the athletics department website.