This past Tuesday night, BGSU men’s basketball (6-8, 1-1) took down Western Michigan (3-11, 0-2) 83-79, to pick up their first Mid-American Conference (MAC) win of the season and the year.
Here’s how it went down:
First Half
The opening minutes of the half were tightly contested, sophomore forward Wilguens Jr. Exacte connected on a three from the right wing, sending both teams into the first timeout tied 9-9.
Coming out of the timeout, senior guard Trey Thomas connected a big three for BG and was fouled in the process and sent to the free throw line for a chance for one more. Thomas missed the free throw, but the ball was recovered by senior forward Marcus Johnson who spun his way to the rim for a one-handed layup, making the score 14-11.
As the first half ticked away, Western Michigan jumped to a 41-27 lead with 2:27 left in the first half after two free throws by graduate student guard Donavon Williams– a 14-point deficit for the Orange and Brown.
As time ticked down within the final minutes of the half, with Bowling Green down 10, Thomas connected on two threes back-to-back to send BG to the half down only 42-38, after previously being down by 14 points earlier in the half.
Second half
After Western Michigan scored the first two baskets, senior guard Derrick Butler got the Orange and Brown on the board with a step-back inside jumper for the first points of the second half, BG down 47-40.
A tip-in by Butler for two points and an assist by Thomas to Exacte in the paint made the score 51-50, Bowling Green within one point of tying things up with 13:47 left on the clock.
As the clock approached the 10-minute mark, Thomas hit a big three from the top of the key for his 16th point of the night to send Bowling Green into the timeout up 60-56.
Despite an attempt of a late rally by the Broncos, it was too little, too late– Bowling Green picked up their first MAC win of 2025 with a final score of 83-79 on Tuesday night.
Bowling Green improves to a 6-8 record on the season, now 1-1 against the MAC. Their victory in the Read Fieldhouse is their first road win of the season– now 1-4 on the road.
Thomas came up huge for the Falcons vs the Broncos, scoring 22 points– a new season high while going four for five from three. Butler added 19 points as well.
Redshirt freshman Jamai Felt had a huge night in the paint, grabbing six rebounds and recording four blocks.
Bowling Green’s next time out will have them face off against Ball State in Muncie, Indiana on Saturday, Jan 11 with tip-off at 2:00 p.m.
