The Bowling Green men’s basketball team overcame a five-point halftime deficit to defeat Central Michigan 77-73 in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan last night.

The one-two scoring punch of forwards John Reimold and Josh Almanson led the way for BG. Reimold scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Almanson had 16 points on six of eight shooting with four rebounds and three blocks.

But it was guard Steven Wright who made all the clutch shots. Wright nailed two three pointers in the final eight minutes and finished with 15 points. His three-pointer with eight minutes to go gave BG their first lead since it was 4-2 early in the first half. The Chippewas clawed their way back to a 70-69 lead with three minutes left. But that would be the closest they would get as Wright nailed another three which went straight up in the air and fell back down in the net, giving BG a 72-70 advantage with 2:01 remaining.

BG head coach Dan Dakich said after a rough start in the first half, they were fortunate to get some key stops which decided the game.

“At halftime I thought we were awful, and (Central Michigan) had guys step up,” Dakich said. “In the second half we got a lucky bounce on Steven Wright’s three point shot that gave us the lead.”

But Wright wasn’t the only BG guard to make game saving plays down the stretch.

Freshman Perrick Robinson was just as impressive on defense. In the final three minutes, Robinson had three steals, including one that led to a tip in by forward Mawel Soler, which gave the Falcons a four point lead with a just over a minute to go.

“Moon (Perrick) Robinson changed the game,” Dakich said. “Once I was smart enough, once I decided I really wasn’t going to let them score anymore, I put (him) in, and I thought Moon did an incredibly good job.”

Sophomore guard John Floyd scored 12 for the Falcons and Soler, who started for his second consecutive game, chipped in with eight points, six boards and three steals.

Despite the loss, it was a career day for a pair of Chippewas. Senior center Steve Harris poured in a career-high 16 points and grabbed seven boards, while sophomore forward Eddie Spencer added a career-high 15 points. Entering the game they both had season averages of fewer than five points per game.

Central Michigan’s Kevin Nelson, the MAC’s second leading scorer, scored 14 points and had a game high five steals, but was held to just three points in the first half.

With the win the Falcons are now 12-4 overall and 6-2 in the MAC. The Chippewas drop to 7-10 overall with a 2-7 record in MAC play.

The Falcons will look to extend their two game win streak on Saturday when they travel to Athens to take on the Ohio Bobcats at 3:30 p.m.

Notes:

The Falcons are now tied with Western Michigan for the best record in the MAC … BG senior forward Germain Fitch missed the game due to a bruised knee which he suffered during the post game celebration after Saturday’s comeback win over Toledo. After three knee surgeries Dakich hopes people learn to stay away from Fitch in future celebrations. “Hey they can jump on me but geez they don’t need to jump on Fitch,” he said.