The Bowling Green men’s basketball team is flying high, riding a three-game winning streak, winners in 11 of their last 12 contests and off to their best start through their first 17 games in a season since the 2001-2002 campaign.  

The Falcons hold an overall record of 13-4 and a Mid-American Conference (MAC) record of 4-1, making Todd Simon just the third head coach in BGSU history to start 4-1 in conference play in their first season leading the Orange and Brown.  

On Saturday, the Falcons earned their first MAC road win of the season, defeating Northern Illinois in DeKalb, 83-72.  

The Illinois-natives led the way for the Falcons against the Huskies.  

Senior forward Rashaun Agee finished with a career-high 24 points, adding nine rebounds and a team-leading four assists. On Monday, Agee was named MAC Co-Player of the Week for his dominant performances against Ohio and NIU.  

Junior guard Marcus Hill added 20 points and a career-high four steals against the Huskies, while senior center Jason Spurgin contributed a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double.  

Senior guard Da’Shawn Phillip also scored a season-high 12 points against Northern Illinois.  

Then, Bowling Green picked up their first victory at Millett Hall in Oxford since Jan. 16, 2018, downing the Miami (OH) RedHawks 78-73 Tuesday night.  

Hill led the Falcons in scoring for the 10th time this season, finishing with 23 points, including the game-clinching layup in the final 15 seconds of the contest.  

Agee put on another dominant performance, finishing with 15 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. The Chicago, Illinois, native has now scored double-digit points in nine straight contests.  

Spurgin fell one rebound shy of recording his second straight double-double, finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds against the RedHawks.  

Senior guard Trey Thomas continues to play well, finishing with 14 points against Miami, his sixth double-digit scoring performance in the past seven contests.     

After having consistency issues earlier in the season, BG’s offense has been running on all cylinders recently.   

Over their three-game winning streak, the Falcons are averaging 81.3 points scored per game and have shot 47.2% (85-180) from the field and 37.3% (22-59). BG has also reached the free throw line 77 times in the past three contests.  

Although this team is still learning to play together as a unit every time they step onto the court, Bowling Green has been great at closing out games this season.  

The Falcons are 5-0 in games decided by less than five points this season, with two of those wins coming in the past three games.  

Bowling Green is also 10-0 when leading with five minutes remaining and 11-0 when leading with two minutes remaining in games.  

Late-game execution has proved to be one of BG’s biggest strengths this season, and it is something that Simon has drilled into the player since the offseason.  

“In the offseason, guys probably made fun of me all the time, but I’m fanatical about working on situations. So, when guys get in those situations, we have a complete game plan,” Simon said. “Some of those things are there’s a comfort level now at this stage in the season.”  

After the win against Northern Illinois, Simon noted that they are doing a great job of not getting overwhelmed when opposing teams go on scoring runs late in games.  

“We were getting on those roller coasters, but now we’re handling people’s runs and not giving up the lead when those runs happen,” he said.  

However, in Bowling Green’s latest win against Miami, the Falcons were in a relatively unfamiliar position late in the contest, trailing by as many as eight points in the final six minutes. 

But the Falcons responded in a major way, putting together five consecutive stops on defense and scoring 11 unanswered points to close out the game.  

Looking at this team over the past few games, you would never guess that this is a unit that is banged up and shorthanded in a few positions due to injuries.  

The Orange and Brown have stepped up to the challenge, especially the starting five.  

During their three-game winning streak, Hill, Thomas, Agee, Spurgin and Phillip combined have averaged 70.7 points, 29 rebounds and 12.3 assists per game. They have shot 50% (74-148) from the field and 46.2% (18-39) on three-pointers across the three victories.  

Almost every player on Bowling Green’s roster is playing as well as they have all season, and, in some cases, they are playing the best basketball of their collegiate careers.  

Nearly every good team ultimately goes through a rough stretch during the season. In November, the Falcons lost three straight contests to Oakland, Bellarmine and Western Kentucky, and they may hit another rough patch between now and the end of the season.  

However, the Falcons have proved they can deal with adversity, as evidenced by them reeling off eight straight victories and winning 11 of their 12 contests after their three-game skid. 

Although the Falcons were picked to finish in the middle of the pack in the MAC and not have any players on the All-MAC teams in the MAC preseason poll, Bowling Green is sitting in third place in the conference with two players who have been awarded MAC Player of the Week after 17 games.  

While it will be hard for the Falcons to keep winning at their current pace, they have proved time after time they can overcome adversity and find a way to win.  

Next up, the Orange and Brown will look to extend their winning streak against Western Michigan (7-10, 4-1 MAC) on Saturday, Jan. 20. Tip-off between the Falcons and Broncos at the Stroh Center is set for 2 p.m.  

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