When the calendar turns its page to March, only one thing ensues: madness. That is exactly what went down at the Stroh Center.
The BGSU men’s basketball team defeated the Ohio Bobcats in the home season finale last night, 80-77.
The Falcons, who came into the game on the outside of the MAC tournament picture, needed to close out the season with two huge wins, while also receiving some help from others. Part one of the plan? A huge success.
Both teams opened up the game with lights-out shooting, as the Bobcats knocked down six first-half three pointers, while the Falcons would shoot an efficient 46%.
However in the second half, things would start to get wild.
After only shooting three free throws in the first half, the Falcons would begin to get aggressive, shooting 26 free throws in the second, and making 21 of them.
Midway through the second half, the Falcons seemed to be cruising their way to an upset, holding a consistent 7-12 point lead. However, with the Falcons up 13 with 6:50 to go, the Bobcats would get rolling, going on a 12-0 run to cut the lead to one.
But, as I said earlier, madness goes down in March, and boy did a certain Bobcat get mad.
Bobcat Forward Jason Carter, after disagreeing with a questionable traveling violation, would receive back-to-back technical fouls after arguing with an official, leading to his ejection.
Because of that, Falcon Forward Daeqwon Plowden would knock down four straight technical foul free throws to bring the lead back to five, and the Falcons would not look back.
Plowden would finish the night with 18 points, six rebounds, and five blocks, while also going 6-8 from the free throw line. Senior Matiss Kulackovskis would also contribute a solid night, finishing his final home game with 18 points, seven rebounds, while shooting 70% from the field.
For the Falcons now, they send the seniors off with a victory in their final home game of their careers. However, there is still a whole lot to play for.
With a loss by Central Michigan to Miami by a final of 75-61, along with the Falcon victory, the season comes down to nothing better than a classic matchup with the rival Toledo Rockets.
The Falcons will be traveling to Savage Arena on Friday night, with goals of pulling off the upset in the Battle of I-75, along with a Akron victory over the Chippewas. If that can happen, then the Falcons will punch their ticket to Cleveland next week for a chance at a MAC championship.
For more information about this game, and Friday’s regular season finale, visit www.bgsufalcons.com, and find the broadcast of Friday’s game on WBGU 88.1 FM.
