For the first time since the 2020-21 season, Bowling Green men’s basketball has clinched a spot in the Mid-American Conference tournament. BG punched their ticket to Cleveland, OH by defeating the Western Michigan Broncos 73-65 to earn their spot. 

Here’s how it went down. 

Bowling Green got things started right away with a quick Jason Spurgin three getting the first points of the night for BG. Western Michigan tied things up with a three-pointer of their own from Ja’Vaughn Hannah. 

Nearly seven minutes into the contest, the game was still tied, this time at 9-9 after two Trey Thomas free throws. 

Western Michigan got the first big lead of the half with a three from Max Burton getting the score at 14-9 for the Broncos. 

As Western Michigan began to slowly build separation, an Ejay Greer three got BG within two, making the score 20-18 as both teams headed into a media timeout. 

As the back-and-forth battle resumed between the two teams, a layup from Bowling Green’s top scorer Marcus Hill gave the Falcons the lead heading into halftime, now up 31-29. 

At the half, Bowling Green held Western Michigan to zero fast break points.  

The second half began with Spurgin starting red hot once again, with two dunks leading to four straight BG points, all scored by Spurgin, making the score, 35-31. 

Western Michigan would tie things up at 54 a piece, with a layup from Anthony Crump, with 9:05 left to play. 

With things beginning to wind down, in the final five minutes of play, Sam Towns converted another BG dunk to give Bowling Green a four-point lead. 

With 2:10 left in the game, BG with a one-point lead, 62-61, Bowling Green went on a seven-point scoring run, with Spurgin and Agee scoring all seven points for Bowling Green, forcing a Broncos timeout. 

This run marked the nail in the coffin for a Bowling Green victory, defeating Western Michigan 73-65. 

Bowling Green shot 46.7% from the field, a major improvement from their 32.4% and 42.2% shooting performances in their consecutive losses to Miami and Ohio. 

As a team, BG grabbed 36 rebounds, outrebounding Western Michigan by just four rebounds. 

Agee recorded yet another double-double for his season, scoring 17 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. The Australian native Jason Spurgin scored 16 points, shooting 7-12 from the field. 

The Orange and Brown will wrap up their season at home against Ball State at the Stroh Center on March 8th, with tip-off at 6:00 p.m.