The BG men’s basketball team faced Ohio University Saturday in a David versus Goliath-type matchup, but was not able to take down the giant when the Bobcats went on an 11-point run to start the second half. The Falcons fell to Ohio 72-63.
Senior Jordon Crawford finally found his way back to the starting lineup against the Bobcats after starting off on the bench the past two games. Crawford would score 17 points in the game. However, senior A’uston Calhoun was the only other BG player to score in double digits with a team-leading 19 points in the game.
Four Bobcats were able to score double-digits against the Falcons’ defense, which performed below expectations.
“Ohio is one of those teams where you can’t afford to have a stretch where you don’t have good offensive possessions or turnovers,” head coach Louis Orr said. “They went on an 11-0 run and we never really recovered from it.”
Ohio senior Reggie Keely, junior T.J. Hall, senior Walter Offutt and senior D.J. Cooper all scored 15, 12, 12 and 10 points respectively against the Falcons.
Junior Craig Sealey led the team and set a career record with 12 rebounds, eight of which were on the defensive side. His previous career high mark was in 2011 against Detroit with nine rebounds. He also scored eight points against the Bobcats.
The Falcons beat the Bobcats on the boards with 41 total rebounds in the game compared to Ohio’s 32 rebounds.
Sophomore Richaun Holmes did not block any Ohio shots on Saturday but he scored eight points off the bench. His season total remains at 56, which is three shy of Cornelius Cash’s record of 59.
With the loss, BG falls to 9-14 (4-6) on the year and Ohio boosts its record to 17-6 (8-1).
Other games in the Mid-American Conference on Saturday caused BG to fall to fourth place in the MAC East. Kent State defeated Central Michigan 72-63 to move up to third place in the East Division. Miami found itself on the losing end and fell to division leader Akron 54-50.
Buffalo defeated Northern Illinois 59-54 in their interconference matchup and thanks to Ball State’s 65-62 victory over the MAC-West leading Western Michigan Broncos, Toledo is now tied for the lead in the division with its 60-52 win over Eastern Michigan.
BG’s next game will be Wednesday at the Stroh Center against the Mid-American Conference West Division leader Western Michigan. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
