BGSU men’s basketball (3-2) fell short in another comeback attempt, this time against the William & Mary Tribe (3-2) in a non-conference showdown on Wednesday night, losing 82-74.
On a night that can be summed up with the Falcons’ struggles to shoot the basketball.
“At the end of the day, we couldn’t put the ball in the basket, and that makes it difficult to beat anybody,” head coach Todd Simon said postgame.
The Falcons came out hot, hitting their first three shots of the night. Despite the streak, William & Mary kept it close as neither team pulled away early.
After being down 13-12, the Tribe went on a 15-0 run midway through the first half to take a double-digit lead.
Bowling Green cut the lead down to ten at one point, but William & Mary outscored the Orange & Brown once again to make it a 41-26 game at halftime.
The Falcons had no double-digit scorers in the first half, but were led by sophomore Josiah Shackelford, who had seven points.
The Tribe was led by junior Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi, who netted three triples in the first half.
The Falcons went 1 for 12 from outside the arc in the first half, maintaining the struggles they had in their previous game at Davidson. The Tribe, on the other hand, went 6 for 18 from outside.
In the second half, the Orange & Brown attempted to come out aggressively with a tough basket by senior Javontae Campbell, who was fouled during the attempt, but the Tribe responded with their own tough basket as junior Reese Miller banked in a three while he was fouled.
The Falcons quickly flipped the momentum as they switched to a full-court pass and went on a lightning-fast 12-1 run, led by Campbell and senior Justin Thomas, who had multiple steals and quick layups.
Bowling Green trimmed down the lead to 58-53, but the Tribe kept on responding as they forced multiple turnovers.
William & Mary then went on their own 8-2 run to retake a double-digit lead.
The Tribe’s Jo’el Emmanuel caught an inbound lob pass and slammed it to give William & Mary a 73-57 lead.
The Falcons were not done yet, though, as they went on a 10-0 run capped by two triples from junior Mayar Wol and senior Javon Ruffin. Bowling Green went over 32 minutes without hitting a three-pointer.
It was too late, though, as the Falcons were unable to complete the comeback and lost their second game of the season, 82-74.
Bowling Green was led in scoring and assists by Campbell with 17 points and four assists, three different Falcons tied each other with three steals, and senior Justin Thomas had three blocks as he led the Orange & Brown in blocked shots.
The Falcons shot a low 15.8% from outside the arc.
“We need to be sharper and we need to shoot more in the gym,” senior Troy Glover II said.
Bowling Green will look forward to their opening game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off Tournament against Bucknell on Monday, Nov. 24, at 12 pm.
