The Bowling Green Falcons fell to the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in game one of the Northern Classic 72-65, the team’s third loss in a row.

After starting the season 2-0, the Falcons have dropped three in a row to bring their record under .500 for the first time this season.  

The Falcons got things started, with junior guard Marcus Hill hitting a jump shot to get the Falcons on the board first, 2-0. Later on, Senior guard Da’Shawn Phillip hit a three-point shot to tie the game 9-9. 

For both teams in the first half, it was a back-and-forth contest, with the Falcons and the Hilltoppers finishing the first half 37-30, with Western Kentucky leading by seven points.  

The second half  was very tight, with both teams scoring 35 points each in the second half of play. After going down by double digits, halfway through the second half, another Hill layup cut the lead down to nine points. 

Two made free throws by guard Trey Thomas, who returned from injury after missing the past three games, cut the Western Kentucky lead down to seven points.  

Despite the scoring streaks, the Falcons still lost to the Hilltoppers 72-65.

As a team, the Falcons shot 23-58, 39.7% on field goals and 5-26, 19.2% from the three-point line, continuing the team’s shooting struggles.  

Bowling Green turned the ball over 23 times throughout the game and the Hilltoppers managed to steal the ball from Bowling Green 15 times.  

Hill had an impressive performance for the Orange and Brown despite the loss, scoring a season-high 29 points on 10-14 shooting. Junior  Don McHenry led with 17 points for Western Kentucky, shooting 10-12 from the free-throw line.  

The Falcons continue on with the Northern Classic on Nov. 25 against Lipscomb at 6 p.m.

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