After two straight overtime losses at the Stroh Center, Bowling Green had a major bounce back at home, defeating the Buffalo Bulls 87-73 in front of the Bowling Green faithful Tuesday night.
Here’s how it went down.
With just a few seconds ticking by in the half, BG’s Marcus Hill started things early for the Orange and Brown with a tough contested layup getting the first points of the night.
Buffalo’s Sy Chatman evened up the score early with two quick free throws setting the game at 2-2 early. As Buffalo took their first lead with another single free throw, Rashaun Agee snapped it away with a dunk.
The Bulls shifted gears quickly with a quick dunk of their own via Chatman, getting the Buffalo back on top 5-4. Bowling Green would not be denied however, with a Hill steal resulting in a DaJion Humphrey layup, regaining the lead for the Falcons.
The back-and-forth battle continued to reap the opening minutes of the first half. Buffalo managed to find some separation with a Shawn Fulcher three giving the Bulls a 9-6 lead. Bowling Green got closure quickly via a Jason Spurgin dunk and one free throw from Hill, tying the contest 9-9 once more.
BG and Buffalo continued to compete, but one man dominated the first half- Agee. Agee recorded several highlight-worthy dunks that resulted in major momentum shifts for the Falcons.
As the first half began to wind down in the Stroh Center, Spurgin hit a corner three-point shot, Trey Thomas recorded a layup and Hill hit a buzzer beater layup, giving the Falcons an 8-0 scoring run heading into half.
At halftime, Bowling Green led Buffalo 34-26.
BG began the second half with a jumpshot from Agee, which gave him his 10th point on the night. Buffalo snapped their five-minute scoreless streak with a Ryan Sabol three.
As Buffalo crawled closer and closer to retaking the lead for the first time since the beginning of the first half, Bowling Green went on a major 17-2 scoring run that was the major nail in the coffin.
From that point, Bowling Green was relentless scoring on all areas of the court and playing their most dominant home court basketball in many weeks. At one point in the half, after a Thomas free throw, BG had a 17 point lead.
As the game drew closer to the end, two free throws by Hill sealed the contest for the Falcons. Bowling Green defeated Buffalo 87-73.
Hill scored 27 points, marking his eighth straight 20-point performance, tying him for most in the nation in consecutive 20-point scoring games. Agee scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds; his 11th double-double of the season.
As a team, Bowling Green scored 56 points in the paint en route to their victory. The BG defense also recorded nine steals.
Postgame, head coach Todd Simon spoke on Agee and Hill stepping up over the season through the Falcon’s injuries and struggles.
“They’re some of the best players in the league,” Simon said. “That’s what great players do, is it fair that we need to ask more from you, there’s only one fair, selling tickets and rides, they just gotta do it, if we’re gonna win, you gotta step up and give us more than you have been giving us, they’ve embraced it and handled it with maturity.”
Bowling Green improves to 16-7 on the season and 7-4 in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). BG will have to take a long road trip as they travel to face Louisiana on Feb 11, at 3 p.m.
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