Arkansas State and Bowling Green last met for a matchup 17 years ago.
After a long wait, the next matchup did not disappoint as the Falcons defeated the Red Wolves 81-75 in a close contest in the MAC- Sun Belt Challenge earlier Saturday afternoon.
Arkansas State opened the game by taking the first lead after a Taryn Todd layup for two points. Bowling Green answered with a score from sophomore guard PJ Edwards, making it 2-2.
Later in the half, after back-to-back threes from Jason Spurgin and DaJion Humphrey, Bowling Green extended out to a 13-1 run against their Sun Belt opponent, putting them up a comfortable 15-3 lead, shooting nearly 69% to open the game.
At one point in the first half, BG held a 30-18 lead.
After a media timeout at the Stroh, the Red Wolves took full advantage of their break. They came out striking, playing incredible defense and forcing the Falcons into personal fouls, turnovers and questionable shot selections.
The Falcons went on a nearly six-minute scoreless streak for the first time since the beginning of the contest.
With almost two minutes left in the first half, the Red Wolves snagged the lead after a Todd layup.
Junior point guard Marcus Hill snapped the scoreless streak with a driving layup to put the Falcons within one.
Hill sent the Falcons into halftime with the lead after a buzzer-beater for two to put the Orange and Brown up 34-31. At the half, the Falcons were shooting a 46.7% FG percentage, shooting 3-11 from the three-point line and 3-4 from the free throw line.
The second half of the game was just as competitive as the first. The momentum seemed to switch from both teams rapidly, with both teams outscoring their first-half total.
One of the most significant momentum shift came when Hill made a driving layup for the Falcons. BG’s DJ Smith immediately stole the ball off the inbound and scored an easy layup, giving the Falcons four points in three seconds.
From that point forward, the Falcons never lost their momentum.
After Humphrey made two clutch free throws, BG went up 79-75 with 11.9 seconds left on the clock. Senior forward Sam Towns made a clutch rebound, was fouled, and went 2-2 at the line, sealing the game for Bowling Green.
The Falcons won the game 81-75, improving to 2-0 on the season in the Todd Simon era.
Hill finished with 26 points and went 8-10 from FTs. Humphrey finished with 22 points and shot 4-6 from the three-point line.
Meanwhile for the Red Wolves, Todd dropped an impressive 31 points on 14-27 shooting.
Towns led the Falcons in rebounds with seven and Spurgin led the team in blocks with three.
Defensively, Bowling Green only allowed two fastbreak points the entire game. Additionally, the Falcons held the lead for 36:10 (90.4% of the game). The Falcons also had eight steals.
“We pulled out a good win out of a good team like that; they’re gonna go far,” Humphrey said postgame. “For us to do that, it proves we have the coaching and we are always together. We love each other.”
The Falcons hit the road for the first time this season next as they travel to Oakland to face the Golden Grizzlies. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on Nov. 14.
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