BGSU men’s basketball (13-16, 7-9) kept the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament hopes alive on Saturday, defeating Ball State (14-15, 7-9) 61-52 on senior day at the Stroh Center.
“Really proud of this group. We had really good preparation. This group is really united; they’re really connected right now,” BGSU head coach Todd Simon said postgame. “Their intensity is phenomenal. Our chemistry and our discipline right now is really strong.”
The shorthanded Falcons have caught fire, winning six of their past eight games as they attempt to make their way to Cleveland.
“We’re always playing like it’s our last game. So, that’s what it comes down to,” junior guard Javontae Campbell said. “We really want to get to Cleveland, so we’re going to play like it every game.”
Campbell powered Bowling Green’s offense, recording his fifth straight 20-point performance, scoring a team-high 26 points.
The Falcons shut down Ball State junior guard Jermahri Hill, who ranks fifth in the MAC with 16.1 points per game. Hill was held scoreless in 34 minutes, shooting 0-8 from the field and 0-4 from deep.
“One of our goals is always to stop one of the main players. So, we did that,” Campbell said postgame. We worked on it all week during practice.”
The first half was a low-scoring, back-and-forth affair.
Ball State missed their first four shots from the field, including their first three shots from deep.
“We’re making good choices, and they’re really bought into this defense that we’re running now, and I think it’s having a good result,” Simon said. “It’s mainly because of their effort in it.”
Senior guard Marcus Johnson scored the first seven points for the Falcons.
Outside of Johnson, it took a while for Bowling Green to find offensive production.
The Orange and Brown started 3-12 from the field, taking eight-and-a-half minutes for another Falcon to score, with Campbell and sophomore forward Wilguens Jr. Exacte ending a 7-0 Ball State run and cutting BG’s deficit to three points, 14-11.
In the later stages of the first half, the Falcons held the Cardinals scoreless for nearly three minutes, coming within one point with just over five minutes to play, 18-17.
However, BSU stayed just ahead of BG, holding Bowling Green scoreless for over three minutes before redshirt freshman forward Jamai Felt made back-to-back layups to again bring the Falcons within one point with just under two minutes remaining, 22-21.
Campbell finished the half strong, making back-to-back layups, giving Bowling Green a 25-24 lead going into halftime.
BGSU’s momentum carried over to the start of the second half, with senior guard Derrick Butler and Campbell making back-to-back 3-pointers, giving the Falcons a five-point lead just under three minutes into the half, 35-30.
Later, a Johnson triple and two Butler free throws capped an 8-0 run by the Orange and Brown, extending their lead to double-digits, 40-30.
Following another Johnson 3-pointer, Ball State’s offense got going, as the Cardinals went on a 7-0 run, cutting BG’s lead down to just three points with 11 minutes remaining, 43-40.
After their momentum was briefly halted, the Falcons went on a 12-2 run, extending their lead to 57-45 with four minutes remaining.
BGSU held Ball State in check for the remainder of the contest, securing a nine-point victory. The Falcons outscored Ball State 36-28 in the final 20 minutes of the game.
Both teams had rough shooting days. Bowling Green shot 41.1% (23-56) from the field and 26.3% (5-19) from deep, while the Cardinals shot just 33.9% (20-59) from the floor and 26.1% (6-23) from beyond the arc.
“You have two teams fighting for their lives,” Simon said. “At this stage of the year when you got teams like that, the defensive end is the first side that really gets ramped up the intensity, which makes it tougher to score, and the physicality was something that was a factor today on both ends because the teams are playing hard.”
BG outrebounded Ball State 38-36, scoring nine second-chance points off six offensive rebounds.
Felt dominated on the boards for the Falcons, grabbing 10 rebounds and falling two points shy of a double-double. BGSU held Payton Sparks, the MAC’s leading rebounder to just seven boards.
“[Rebounding] is everything. It’s one of the biggest priorities of the game, was to win that battle,” Simon said. “Our guys are scrappy.”
Felt and company also controlled action near the basket, outscoring Ball State 34-26 in the paint.
Johnson finished as the only other double-digit scorer for the Orange and Brown with 15 points.
Redshirt senior forward Mickey Pearson Jr. led the Cardinals in scoring with 15 points, while senior center Payton Sparks added 14 points.
Next, Bowling Green will head north to face Northern Illinois on the road on Tuesday at 7 p.m. before returning home to battle Western Michigan on Friday at 7 p.m. to finish the regular season.
“We’re at that stage now where it’s fight or flight. We are all we got, and this is who it is, and don’t look over your shoulder; we’re going to do this together, and everyone’s bought in,” Simon said. “We don’t want to be the guy that’s looking for the light at the end of the tunnel. Just put your head down and keep digging; that guy is going to get there first.”
