As Rocky Balboa famously said, “It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”
BGSU men’s basketball has exemplified that sentiment this season. In a season full of adversity, the Orange and Brown have refused to quit, continuing to get off the mat and keep fighting.
It is well known the Falcons have dealt with numerous unfortunate injuries this season.
Notably, starting forwards Sam Towns and Youssef Khayat have played just six games each, suffering leg injuries against Bellarmine on Nov. 23.
Things got worse for the Falcons this past week, as senior guard Trey Thomas suffered a broken leg in the loss to Kent State on Tuesday, ending his season.
“This has been the craziest thing I’ve ever been a part of. I think we’ve had nine of our scholarship guys have missed games now, long-term injuries, crazy injuries,” head coach Todd Simon said. “I don’t think you can go over the 364 D1 schools that have had more injuries than us.”
With a 10-16 overall and 4-9 conference record going into the Toledo game on Friday, a lot of teams in a similar situation would give up and get ready for next season — but not Bowling Green.
“So, you go up against it and just say, ‘Hey, we’re just going to keep fighting.’ This group never quits,” Simon said.
The Orange and Brown went into Savage Arena as major underdogs against Toledo on Friday, leaving the Glass City with their biggest win of the year, a 69-68 victory that stunned the nearly 7,000 fans in attendance.
In a season that has been filled with disappointment, Bowling Green delivered a beacon of light and hope for fans against the Rockets.
“That’s what that locker room was, just a sweet joy of being rewarded because, you know, quite honestly, a lot of folks would just pack it in at this point. A lot of guys would say, ‘Hey, you know what, the season hasn’t gone our way, we’ve just taken one hit after another, and I’ll play for myself, or I’ll just try to get my points, or I’ll try to do this.’ We don’t have any of that, so that makes it extra sweet that they just keep believing,” Simon said postgame. “We have a saying: You believe and believe again because things don’t go your way in life, and you have to keep believing after the fact when you don’t want to, and they’ve been rewarded for that. So, that made it extra, extra special.”
Junior guard Javontae Campbell was the hero of the week, making a game-winning layup against Toledo with 1.6 seconds remaining. Campbell has scored at least 20 points in three straight games with a broken hand.
“Javontae, he really hasn’t been in a live practice since Jan. 6. But he has to get his mental reps in and goes out there and has to run the show off of that,” Simon said. “So, it just shows the special preparation that they put in.”
Another player who has been crucial for the Falcons but has not gotten as much attention and limelight is sophomore forward Wilguens Jr. Exacte.
Exacte tallied 11 points and seven rebounds against Kent State before scoring four and grabbing a team-high 12 rebounds against Toledo. Over the past three games, Exacte has corralled 12 offensive rebounds, stepping up for a thin Bowling Green frontcourt.
“He’s becoming a little bit of a heart and soul guy. He’s consistently now bringing this energy. He embodies what this team’s about; they just keep playing hard. No one can accuse this team of not playing hard. We might not play a lot of guys, but they leave it out there, and he’s one of those guys,” Simon said. “He just does all that dirty work that affects winning.
Even with the massive win in the Battle of I-75, BGSU is still on the outside looking in for the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament, sitting in 10th place in the conference standings.
The Falcons will have two more major, must-win games this week. BGSU will battle Eastern Michigan on the road on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. before facing Ball State at the Stroh Center on Saturday at 2 p.m.
While it is not a guarantee that Bowling Green will make the MAC Tournament, this week proved one thing for certain — the Orange and Brown will not go down without a fight.
