The Bowling Green men’s basketball team showed off their depth in a 73-66 win over Kent State University.
“This was a character win for our guys,” head coach Louis Orr said. “They fought through adversity.”
Part of that adversity was playing without Junior Anthony Henderson as he was a game-time scratch after he injured his ankle in practice before the game against Miami University this past Sunday.
JD Tisdale started in his place. He played 28 minutes and scored five points.
“What he brings to our team is hard to replace,” Henderson said. “If this was the MAC Championship game he could have played.”
Junior Damarkeo Lyshe took full advantage of the Henderson injury as he played a season high 19 minutes and scored eight points on 3-7 shooting.
“He is a hardworking guy,” point guard Jehvon Clarke said. “Him coming in and hitting some big shots was a huge lift for us.”
The Falcons never trailed in the game. The Golden Flashes had tied the game 13-13 at one time in the first half, but that was the closest they would get.
In the second half, the Golden Flashes cut the lead to 53-50, but after a Spencer Parker put back a lay up the Falcons went on a 9-2 run. After that, the Falcons would not lead by any less than three.
This win has a lot of postseason implications for both the Falcons and the Golden Flashes. The Falcons came into this game as the number 10 seed for the Mid-American Conference Tournament that begins March 10.
The top four seeds automatically get byes into the quarterfinal round and the first and second seed teams get byes into the semifinal round. Seeds five through eight get to host home games for the first round of the MAC Tournament.
With the win over Kent State, the Falcons jump the Golden Flashes and become the number nine seed as Kent falls to the number 10 seed. There are still three games left in the regular season as the Falcons try to move up the MAC Standings.
Next, the Falcons travel to the University of Akron for a rematch with the Zips March 1.
In their last match at the Stroh, Jehvon Clarke banked in a three to tie the game before Quincy Diggs hit the game-winning shot for the Zips.
“You have to be able to preserve and be mentally tough,” Clarke said. “If we can continue to do this in these next three games on up we will have a big shot at winning the title.”
