As the age-old saying goes, “all good things must come to an end.”   

Following an 84-79 victory over the Western Michigan Broncos on Saturday, the Bowling Green men’s basketball team (14-5, 5-2 MAC) fell in overtime to Kent State (10-9, 3-4 MAC), the reigning Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament champions, on Tuesday night, 90-84.  

The loss marked the end of many streaks for BG.  

Along with ending Bowling Green’s four-game winning streak, the Golden Flashes also spelled the end of BG’s seven-game winning streak inside the confines of the Stroh Center.  

On top of this, Tuesday marked the first time Bowling Green scored 70 points and lost. It was also the first time the Falcons lost a contest this season after leading with two minutes remaining in regulation.  

However, the week was not all bad for the Orange and Brown.  

Senior forward Rashaun Agee tallied two more double-doubles, his seventh and eighth this season.  

The Chicago, Illinois, native finished with 12 points and a team-high 14 rebounds against the Broncos. He followed up with 17 points and a team-high 10 rebounds in a career-high 37 minutes played against the Golden Flashes.  

Following a seven-point, nine-rebound performance against WMU, senior center Jason Spurgin finished with 19 points and nine rebounds against Kent State. The Toowoomba, Australia, native also matched his season-high with three blocks in a season-high 41 minutes played on Tuesday.  

Junior guard Marcus Hill continues to do Marcus Hill things.   

The reigning MAC Co-Player of the Week logged his first double-double of the season against Western Michigan, finishing with a team-high 28 points and a season-high 11 rebounds.  

On Tuesday, the Rockford, Illinois, native scored a team-high 21 points in a career-high 43 minutes against the Broncos, his 10th 20-point performance of the season.  

On Tuesday, something that has been an Achilles’ heel for the Falcons throughout most of this season struck again: slow starts.   

In the first half, BG shot just 39.1% (9-23) from the field. Getting better at setting the tone from tip-off is something Bowling Green is looking to improve on.  

“Our intensity, our readiness; our readiness in the first 11 (minutes) needs to be better,” Agee said postgame on Tuesday. “I always preach to my teammates that we can’t come out lackadaisical and just expect teams to roll over to us just because of our record or just because of our size. We have to come in and set the tone; we can’t let somebody come in our house and set the tone on us.”  

However, the Falcons continue to prove they are a tough team to beat.   

After trailing by as many as 13 points on Saturday, the Falcons weathered the storm and defeated the Broncos by five points. Then, on Tuesday, Bowling Green trailed by seven points with six-and-a-half minutes remaining in regulation before forcing overtime.  

Resilience has been one of the biggest strengths for the Orange and Brown this season.  

“No matter what the outcome is or no matter how we’re playing, you just always see us come together and play hard for each other,” Agee said.  

While the Falcons have had a great deal of success so far this season, they have been shorthanded for much of this year’s campaign.  

After redshirting last season, 6-foot-8-inch redshirt freshman forward Jamai Felt has not played this season due to injury. Junior guard DJ Smith, who last played on Dec. 2 against Southern Indiana, is also likely done for the season, according to head coach Todd Simon.  

While he has become a key piece for the Falcons, senior guard Trey Thomas, whom Simon called the team’s floor general, missed the first four games and six of the first seven games of the season due to injury.  

On top of that, sophomore guard Anthony McComb III has not played since Dec. 22 against Siena Heights, while 6-foot-9-inch senior forward Sam Towns has not played since Dec. 2 due to injury.  

While the Falcons have managed to win playing shorthanded, the fatigue may be starting to catch up with them.  

“In our deal, we’re a little bit shorthanded and not playing some numbers. Hopefully, Sam Towns is back soon,” Simon said postgame on Tuesday. “You’re asking guys to maybe stretch out a little bit longer of stretches than you are maybe comfortable with. We’ve gotten away with it so far, but there comes some fatigue in that.”  

While BG has established the expectation of winning every game they play, Simon stressed that the loss on Tuesday is a reminder of how thin the margin of error in the MAC is.  

“Sometimes when you’re winning like we are, the message isn’t always felt like it is after a loss,” he said. “This is a pretty mature team, but we’ve hammered home that the margin of error in this league is very slim.”  

Although the Falcons have now suffered losses to Akron, the first-place team in the MAC standings, and Kent State, the reigning MAC Tournament champions, Simon feels that the Orange and Brown will only keep improving as the season progresses.  

“Our best basketball is in front of us,” he said. “We are just focusing on getting better and the next game and the next practice.”  

Next up, the Falcons will travel 30 minutes north on I-75 for a battle against the archrival Toledo Rockets on Saturday, Jan. 27. Falcon Media Sports Network’s Lucas Kleimeyer and Artie Abrego will have the call of the battle of I-75 on Falcon Radio starting at 1:40 for pregame and 2 p.m. for tip-off.