BGSU men’s basketball’s season ended in heartbreaking fashion, as they were pummeled by Akron in the quarterfinal round of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, on Thursday, falling 96-67.
The 29-point loss was the second-worst defeat of the Todd Simon era at Bowling Green.
“Tough way to end your season. We just didn’t have it,” Simon said.
The Falcons came back from the dead to make the tournament. After starting conference play just 2-7, they won seven out of their final 10 games, including four of their final five contests.
In order to make the tournament, BG had to revamp their system on both sides of the ball.
“We were left for dead, and they win seven out of 10; they kind of reinvent themselves. We put an entirely different system in, an entire different defense,” Simon said. “But it’s really hard on a team to have so many different variations and changing roles on the fly during a year.”
Bowling Green faced as much adversity as any team in the MAC, including losing three starters due to injury.
“It doesn’t take away from the legacy that these guys had when it’s all the adversity, all the injuries that we could have packed it in and we didn’t,” Simon said.
Senior guard DaJion Humphrey is a perfect example of the fight the Orange and Brown showed all season.
“DaJion misses three months with an injury, and when most guys in college basketball or college sports shut it down, he chose to come back and fight, and that leadership turned us around,” Simon said.
Junior guard Javontae Campbell played nearly all of conference play with a broken right hand. However, after the loss to Akron, Simon revealed that he also broke his left hand two weeks ago against Ball State when he scored 26 points.
“Javontae, who was playing with a broken right hand since Jan. 5, breaks his left hand two weeks ago and says, ‘I’m still playing,'” Simon said. “Just spectacular stories of resilience and just couldn’t be more proud of these guys with their fight to keep going.”
Even though they kept fighting all year long, the adversity finally caught up with the Falcons against Akron, as their seven-man rotation was no match for the MAC regular season champions, with Bowling Green heavily suffering from fatigue. The game showed that Bowling Green’s gas tank had finally hit empty.
“I think the weight of the season has taken a toll,” Simon said.
