The BGSU men’s basketball team (16-13, 7-9 MAC) fell to the Western Michigan Broncos (10-18, 4-11 MAC) at the Stroh Center on Tuesday, by a score of 88-79.
Bowling Green was largely sunk by two glaring issues: shooting and perimeter defense.
The Falcons shot a paltry 65.6% from the free-throw line, missing 11 free throws in a game they lost by nine points. The referees were active on the whistle, with the two teams totaling 51 personal fouls in 40 minutes of play, but while the Broncos converted on 87.1% of their free-throw opportunities, BG struggled.
“You can’t go 65 percent from the line in a college basketball game,” head coach Todd Simon said. “It completely has to do with our (struggles with) focus.”
Shooting from the floor was also a major problem. While senior forward Sam Towns finished with 22 points and nine rebounds, flirting with a double-double and making five three-pointers, the rest of the team struggled to connect on shots.
Senior guard Javontae Campbell, usually the team’s star frontcourt player along with Towns, went 3-11 from the floor and 0-2 beyond the arc; seven of his 13 points came from free throws. Sophomore guard Josiah Shackelford struggled as well, shooting 4-12 and going 1-6 from deep.
More concerning still, the team’s shooting percentage dropped 7.7% between the first and second halves, and Falcon shooters went 2-8 from three-point range in the second half.
Western Michigan, meanwhile, was able to feast from midrange, as BG’s perimeter defense crumbled. Five Bronco players scored double digits, and four of them would still have scored double digits had they not made any free throws. Freshman guard Carson Vis scored 17 off the bench and was perfect from three. Senior guard Jayden Brewer went an efficient 5-11 from the floor and 4-5 from the line to add 14 points.
“I think we get good perimeter defense from our bigs, but the perimeter defense from the rest of our group was poor,” Simon said.
The game was streaky for BG. The Orange and Brown started hot, but Western found momentum late in the first half. The Falcons retook that momentum coming out of halftime, but struggled to keep pace with the Broncos and cover their shooters. Towns and senior forward Troy Glover II made second-half plays in the paint to keep it close, but late fouls and miscues helped the Broncos pull away.
“We got to win practice Thursday, win practice Friday, and win (our next game),” Campbell said. “That’s our mindset.”
Two regular-season games remain for Bowling Green, the first being a home date against UMass on Feb. 28 at 2 p.m. Coverage can be found on Falcon Radio and at bgfalconmedia.com.
