On Valentine’s Day last night,  BGSU Men’s Basketball fell at home to the Central Michigan Chippewas by a final score of 77-74. The loss is BG’s sixth in a row, taking them to a 4-9 record in the Mid-American Conference and a 10-16 record overall. 

Here’s how it happened.  

First Half:  

The game started with a quick basket by Kaden Metheny and a free throw by Sam Towns, the score now 3-0. From here, the Chippewas started to build some momentum.

With thirteen minutes left in the half, both teams were tied 10-10 when CMU’s scoring took a turn. CMU scored 10 points in the matter of three minutes to put the Falcons down by eight with ten minutes left in the half.  

Now with the score at 20-12, the Falcons continued to chip away at the gap, but the Chippewas kept driving forward. CMU put together a 6-0 run, widening their lead to a gap of nine points. A three pointer from CMU’s Brian Taylor gave the Chippewas their highest lead of the night with 12. 

 The Brown and Orange responded with a strong 10 point run to cut the lead to two. Bowling Green kept in step with Central Michigan, only being down by four points going into the second half, the score 33-29. 

Second Half:  

To open the second half, Towns logged a layup to make the score 33-31.

From here, the Falcons and Chippewas took turns scoring until they were tied at 39 points each. CMU took the lead from here with back to back three point shots, the score now 45-39.  

The Falcons responded with a quick 13-1 run to take the lead, 52-46. The Chippewas closed this gap, with BG only in the lead by one point.

From here, Bowling Green jumped into a 12-2 stretch, widening the gap. A layup and two free throw shots later, the Falcons found themselves in their biggest lead of the night with a 12 point gap on CMU, 70-58. 

With just over four minutes to go, the Chippewas began to battle back. On a 14-1 stretch, CMU’s Reggie Bass and Brian Taylor ran the court for a few minutes to snag the lead. Bass and the Chippewas continued the momentum, trading baskets with Bowling Green for rest of the game.

With two seconds left to play and a 76-74 score, the Chippewas made one more free throw to ice away the victory for the road warriors.

Metheny led the Falcons in scoring with 19 points on the night, including three three pointers.

Rashaun Agee also had double-digits on the scoresheet, scoring 11 points.

Another strong performance was by Chandler Turner, who scored nine points and hauled in seven rebounds.

Samari Curtis also added to the scoresheet, leading in assists for the night with seven. 

After last night, head coach Michael Huger shared his frustration with missed opportunities and not following through.  

“We turned the ball over at crucial times and we missed free throws”, Huger said. “We were 15-of-26 from the free throw line. Normally, we’re a good free throw shooting team. We weren’t today and that’s the difference in the game.” 

The Falcons now prepare to host part two of the Battle of I-75 against Toledo on Saturday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.  

For more information about the game, visit the athletics webpage.