In a Tuesday night matchup at the Stroh Center, the Bowling Green Falcons (7-9, 2-2) beat the Buffalo Bulls (5-11, 0-4), 79-61.
This victory over the Bulls brings the Falcons back to even in conference play at 2-2 and makes their overall record 7-9 on the season.
“We really challenged this group to continue to get better defensively, and they always give us effort,” head coach Todd Simon stated, “Good all-around effort and some good individual effort as well, just very proud of the way we were able to close it out.”
This game starts a quick home stand for the Falcons as they play two straight home games before hitting the road again.
After some early back-and-forth action, Bowling Green jumped out to a six-point advantage after an offensive rebound and putback layup by redshirt freshman forward Jamai Felt, 15-9.
The Buffalo Bulls would not go away as they went on a six-point run, with four of those points coming from freshman Tim Oboh to tie the game at 15 points apiece.
A layup from Thomas would break the tie for both teams and would also put Thomas at a career milestone as he surpassed 1,000 collegiate career points.
BGSU would cap off the first half of basketball with a Braelon Green offensive rebound putback layup as time expired to make the score 32-28.
Bowling Green came out of halftime and went on a quick seven-point run, led by senior forward Marcus Johnson, who scored five points in that run.
The Falcons would keep up the pressure as Thomas and senior guard Derrick Butler would combine for a 9-1 run for Bowling Green, putting them up 53-37
Behind another Thomas three-pointer later in the game, the Falcons opened their biggest lead of the game, 65-43
The Orange and Brown would finish off the Bulls with an emphatic putback slam by Felt, making the score 79-61.
Simon hammered home the importance of getting to the free-throw line.
“When we stay organized and stay on the attack and get the pieces in the right places, our speed and quickness can take over, and when that happens, that’s when you get to the foul line and guys slow down a little bit.”
Attack they did; as a team, BGSU did a lot of scoring from the free throw line in this matchup as they shot 36 free throws and made 27 of them.
The Falcons were also able to make their mark on the boards against Buffalo, as they were able to corral 42 rebounds as a team.
“When we hold teams to one and done, then that really builds on our transition offense because we are able to run and push”, Thomas stated. “With the shooting ability we have and guys that can get downhill for us, it is huge for us, and that’s something we have been executing so far in Mid-American Conference (MAC) play.”
Next, the Falcons will stay home to battle the Eastern Michigan Eagles on Saturday, Jan. 18. Falcon Media Sports Network’s Artie Abrego and Andrew Smith will have the call on Falcon Radio, beginning at 1:45 for pregame and 2 p.m. for tip-off.
