BGSU men’s basketball (14-16, 8-9) continued their recent stretch of success and momentum, defeating Northern Illinois (5-25, 1-16) 71-58 on Tuesday night, marking their fourth consecutive and seventh win in the last nine games.
With the win, the Falcons swept the season series with Northern Illinois and handed the Huskies their 11th loss in a row.
Additionally, with the victory and a Ball State loss to Central Michigan, BGSU jumped into the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament picture, moving from ninth to seventh in the conference standings. If the regular season ended today, the Falcons would face the Miami (OH) RedHawks in the first round in Cleveland.
Bowling Green and the Huskies began the first half battling back and forth, trading leads and multiple ties throughout the first half.
BG finished the first half up 36-31 over NIU, with the Falcons shooting 60.9% (14-23) from the field during the first half of action in Dekalb.
Bowling Green senior guard Derrick Butler and senior forward Marcus Johnson were the dynamic duo of the first half, scoring 14 points apiece. The two accounted for 28 out of 36 of Bowling Green’s first-half points.
Despite the close first half, the Orange and Brown won both the rebounding battle (18-11) and points in the paint (16-4) against the Huskies.
The battle between the two teams continued throughout much of the second half.
However, Bowling Green began to separate themselves from their competition in the final 10 minutes, jumping to a nine-point lead, 56-47.
Bowling Green junior guard Javontae Campbell led the Falcons in scoring once again with 19 points on 7-12 shooting, grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out four assists, making him the Falcon’s leader in all three respective categories.
Campbell’s streak of scoring at least 20 points ends at five games after falling just one point shy of the mark.
Nothern Illinois’ Quentin Jones led the Huskies with 18 points, as the Falcon’s defense held the MAC’s leading scorer to just 4-13 shooting from the field.
Bowling Green outrebounded the Huskies 45-30, scored 30 points in the paint and shot 50% (8-16) from the three-point line.
BGSU’s defense forced an extremely low shooting night from the Huskies, only hitting 29.8% (17-57) of their shots from the field.
Bowling Green’s final game of the season will take them home to the Stroh Center to take on Western Michigan, with a Falcons win giving them a bid to the MAC Tournament. Tip-off will be at 7 p.m.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Holden Ruck and Andrew Smith will be on the call for the season finale, with coverage beginning at 6:45 p.m. for pregame on Falcon Radio.
