Bowling Green men’s basketball team steamrolled over Northern Illinois with a 68-42 win on the road. The Falcons are now 7-2 overall with a 3-0 record in the MAC.
Senior guard Justin Turner would lead the team with 20 points on the day. Senior forward Daeqwon Plowden would lead the team in rebounds with nine.
Bowling Green would enter the half with a 23-18 lead. Plowden led the Falcons in points with seven at half. Sophomore guard Tyler Cochran would keep the Huskies close with his nine points at the half.
Despite being in the bonus with under 13 minutes left in the first half, Bowling Green could only get to the line four times. Junior guard Caleb Fields would be the only Falcon to get to the charity stripe in the first half, only sinking two of his four attempts.
Bowling Green would struggle from beyond the arc, only shooting 11% from three. Plowden would be the only Falcon to make a three at the half. NIU shot 28.6% from three at the half.
Turner would leave the game at around five minutes left in the half after hurting his ankle. As the Falcons were running in transition, Turner stepped on a refs foot and tweaked his ankle. He would not return for the rest of the half, but came back for the second half.
The first five minutes of the second half saw the Falcons struggling. They would have five turnovers and four team fouls in the five minute span.
After the under 16 media timeout, the Falcons went on a 17-4 run for the next seven minutes. Plowden and Turner led the scoring charge during the run. This run helped the Falcons dominate in the second half.
After shooting 37% in the first half, the Falcons shot 60% from the field in the second half. They caught fire from the three point line as they shot 36% from three in the second half. Senior forward Trey Diggs would lead the three point attack, going 3 of 4.
The defense helped the Falcon offense take off in the second half. They forced NIU into nine turnovers in the second half. Bowling Green scored 17 points off those turnovers.
The Falcons were flying around the court. Bowling Green would outscore NIU 19-4 in fastbreak points in the game. In the second half alone, Bowling Green outscored NIU 16-0 in fastbreak points.
The Huskies would struggle all day offensively. They shot 33% from the field and 18% from three. NIU did not make a shot from the three point line in the second half. The Huskies could not convert on their free throws, only shooting 33% from the line.
Junior guard Darius Beane led the Huskies in scoring with 13 points. Cochran would finish the game with 11 points after leading the Huskies with nine points at halftime. Before the first half ended, Cochran hurt his hamstring. This caused him to struggle during the second half.
The Falcons will take on Central Michigan at home on Tuesday to try and stay perfect in the MAC.
