The Bowling Green men’s basketball team (14-6, 5-3 MAC) fell to the Toledo Rockets (13-7, 7-1 MAC) in the Battle of I-75 for the fifth time in a row on Saturday afternoon, 88-72.
7,318 people were in attendance at John F. Savage Arena for the contest, the third-highest attendance in the venue over the past 16 years.
“Talented basketball team, they play well together and they share the ball well. So, it’s difficult when not all cylinders are firing to stop them,” senior center Jason Spurgin said postgame. “Credit to them; they took a punch at the beginning of the game. They stepped up, played defense, got some key stops and forced us into tough shots, so credit to them.”
After winning four straight games, BG has lost two contests in a row after falling to Kent State in overtime on Tuesday night.
“We have to clean things up in order to enter that upper echelon of the league,” BGSU head coach Todd Simon said postgame. “We’re at that phase right now where we’ve been struggling for years. We bring in 10 new bodies and are probably a little ahead of schedule of what the expectations were externally. But we’re still in the process of getting better.”
FIRST HALF
After Toledo scored the first two points of the contest, the Falcons jumped out to an early 11-5 lead after five minutes of action.
Three minutes later, senior guard Trey Thomas hit his second three-pointer in the first eight minutes, extending Bowling Green’s early lead to 19-9.
After a fast-paced start to the game, both teams struggled to find the bottom of the net for an extended period.
Spurgin finally ended BG’s scoreless drought that lasted over four-and-a-half minutes, making a layup to put the Falcons up 21-13 with seven-and-a-half minutes remaining in the half.
On the very next possession, Toledo also ended their three-minute scoreless drought. A few plays later, the Rockets added a three-pointer, cutting BG’s lead to 21-18 with six minutes remaining.
With two minutes remaining in the half, Toledo scored four points in less than 15 seconds, putting Toledo ahead for the first time since the beginning of the half, 27-26.
However, the Falcons responded by making two straight layups to regain the lead, 31-28.
After nailing a jumper with 40 seconds left in the half, Toledo drew a foul with less than a second remaining. The Rockets split the pair of free throws, resulting in the rival teams heading to the locker rooms tied 31-31 after 20 minutes of action.
While Bowling Green shot 43.8% (14-32) from the field and 33.3% (3-9) on three-pointers in the first half, the Falcons did not reach the free-throw line.
“Solid first half; we were kind of leaving some points on the board, wasn’t enamored with our finishing in the first half,” Simon said. “Tonight, they had two fouls in the first half. It was going to be one of those games, and that’s not really to our strengths. We rely on getting to the free throw line.”
On the other side, Toledo shot 43.3% (13-30) from the field and 50% (3-6) on free throws in the first half. However, the Rockets struggled from deep, shooting just 16.7% (2-12) on three-pointers.
SECOND HALF
Both teams came out of the locker rooms reenergized, hitting their first five shots combined.
Following a media timeout, senior forward Rashaun Agee, who played just over nine minutes in the first half, converted a three-point play. On the next possession, Toledo converted a three-point play of their own, giving the Rockets the 40-39 lead just over two minutes into the half.
Five minutes into the second half, Toledo grabbed the momentum, going on a 5-0 run and extending their lead to 48-42.
After some back-and-forth action, the Falcons went on a 10-0 run, jumping out ahead by five points with 12 minutes remaining, 56-51.
Following a Hill layup to put the Falcons up by two points, the Midnight Blue and Gold responded with three consecutive three-pointers and an 11-0 run, sending the Savage Arena crowd into a frenzy and moving ahead by nine points with just under eight minutes remaining, 67-58.
With five minutes remaining, Hill drained his second three-pointer of the game, cutting UT’s lead to 72-64.
However, the Rockets responded with a 5-0 run, extending their lead to 13 points with just under four minutes remaining in the contest, 77-64.
With just over two minutes remaining in the contest, Toledo buried another three-pointer, extending their advantage to 85-68.
Thomas made the final shot of the game before the Rockets ran out the clock, securing the 16-point victory.
RECAP OF THE GAME
While Bowling Green shot 47.5% (29-61) from the field, 34.8% (8-23) on three-pointers and 85.7% on free throws (6-7), the Rockets shot 55.9% (33-59) from the field, 42.3% (11-26) from beyond the arc and 64.7% (11-17) from the charity stripe.
The second half was the difference in the game, as the Midnight Blue and Gold outscored the Orange and Brown 57-41.
The Falcons shot 51.7% (15-29) from the field and 35.7% (5-14) on three-pointers in the second half. However, Toledo shot a blistering 69% (20-29) from the field and 64.3% (9-14) on three-pointers during the final 20 minutes of the contest.
The Rockets outrebounded the Falcons, the best rebounding team in the MAC coming into the contest, 37-25. Toledo grabbed 28 defensive and nine offensive boards compared to Bowling Green’s 21 defensive and four offensive boards.
“We pride ourselves on outrebounding teams, and today didn’t go our way. It starts with getting stops,” Spurgin said. “We’ve got to get some stops for them to miss so we can get some rebounds. I think it starts on the defensive end with us.”
Hill, the reigning MAC Co-Player of the Week, led the Orange and Brown in scoring, tallying 25 points, three rebounds and three assists in 38 minutes.
Senior guard Da’Shawn Phillip scored 13 points, Spurgin and Thomas each scored 12, while Agee rounded out BG’s scorers with 10.
Although the Falcons did not receive any scoring from the bench, senior forward Sam Towns played in his first game since he got injured on Dec. 2 against Southern Indiana. The Columbus, Ohio, native tallied one rebound, block and steal while committing three personal fouls in 13 minutes.
“He provides some depth for us. He’s a valuable member of our team; he’s a vocal leader, and he keeps guys accountable,” Spurgin said. “It’s awesome that he’s back, and hopefully he keeps getting better.”
While Towns was able to return from injury, Simon believes that fatigue may be starting to affect the team.
“We looked a little tired. Maybe all these injuries piling up and we’re playing guys 30, 35 minutes in high-possession games,” Simon said. “We’ve had four fractured ankles since summer and an ACL. We’re in it right now.”
NEXT UP
The Orange and Brown will try to end their losing skid as they head to Muncie, Indiana, for a matchup against Ball State (11-9, 3-5 MAC) on Tuesday, Jan. 30. Tip-off from Worthen Arena is set for 7 p.m.
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