Bowling Green men’s basketball won their fifth Mid-American Conference game earlier Saturday afternoon on alumni day against the Western Michigan Broncos, 84-79, extending their home winning streak to six games.
The Falcons began the first half against the Broncos struggling offensively after four minutes of play, starting 0-5 on field goals.
Heading into the first timeout, Bowling Green was down 7-1.
Out of the first timeout, the Falcons finally caught their lucky break, as DaJion Humphrey hit a two point shot to snap the Falcons scoreless streak.
The Broncos followed that up by going on a six-point run as the Falcons continued to struggle offensively.
Things quickly turned around though for the Orange and Brown with four quick points from Marcus Hill, putting the Falcons just behind by single digits, 16-7. Later, the reigning co-MAC player of the week, Rashaun Agee, hit a three-point shot, followed by a Humphrey steal leading to two more points for the Falcons.
With the Falcons only behind by single digits, Western Michigan and Bowling Green engaged in a back-and-forth battle for the remainder of the half, each side struggling to extend their lead.
Late in the first half, with three minutes remaining, BG’s Trey Thomas hit a three-pointer from the top of the key to the delight of the Stroh Center crowd- the Falcons rode this wave of momentum to exit the first half with the lead vs their MAC opponents.
At halftime, the Falcons led the Broncos 39-31.
During halftime, BGSU honored several prominent alumni of the BGSU men’s basketball team, including members of the 2008-09 MAC championship team.
After the break, the second half began with Western Michigan snapping the momentum of Bowling Green with a quick two-point score from Titus Wright. The Falcon’s responded with a layup from Jason Spurgin that pushed the Falcon’s score to over 40 points.
Bowling Green found their groove in the second half, extending their lead to 16 points, their largest lead of the night.
The scrappy Broncos would not go quietly into the night, battling back to shrink the BG lead to 72-69 after another Owen Lobsinger three, who ended up shooting 7-7 from behind the arc on the night.
Despite the close score, the Falcons put together a collection of highlight plays, including a major dunk by Agee, causing the Stroh Center faithful to rock the arena and a sequence where Hill grabbed three of his own missed shots to eventually score a layup.
After two successful Thomas free throws, the Falcons extended their lead, and even when the Broncos managed to hit a last second three pointer, it was too little, too late.
The Falcons picked up the victory against the Broncos 84-78.
Bowling Green, despite the rocky start, played a complete game. The Falcons shot 39.1% from the field and shot 23-27, 85.2% from the free throw line, only missing one free throw in the second half.
The Falcons scored 31 points on turnovers and recorded 10 steals. Bowling Green grabbed 47 rebounds, six more than their MAC opponents.
Hill led the Falcons in scoring with 28 points on 10-26 shooting, additionally grabbing 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Agee recorded another double-double for his season, scoring 12 points and grabbing 14 rebounds.
Five Falcon’s scored double digit points in the victory against Western Michigan.
Bowling Green Head Coach Todd Simon commented on Hill’s stellar play postgame.
“He’s a workhorse, he doesn’t seem to get tired and he’s an elite defender,” Simon said. “That’s something we don’t seem to talk about he can turn himself into an elite defender on top of being a scorer that draws a lot of attention.”
Bowling Green improves to 14-4 overall on the season, now sporting a 5-1 record in MAC play. Bowling Green will look to continue their winning ways as they face Kent State on January 23, at 7:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center.
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