At the end of the day, energy and pride was shown for 40 minutes.

The Bowling Green State University Falcons fell to the Ball State Cardinals on Saturday afternoon at the Stroh Center 91-82.

Wrapping up a week that was dominated by drama and frustration with the unexpected dismissals of forward Joe Reece and guard Myron Gordon, the Falcons needed to find a way to maintain their focus. 

The next man-up mentality was on full display, and almost carried the Falcons all the way to a huge home win. 

The two teams battled late into the game, seeing a tied score with as few as three minutes left in regulation. However, late free throws would seal the deal for the Cardinals.

Four Falcons would reach double-digit points, with Samari Curtis leading the way with 18 points to go along with six assists to his stat line.

Senior forward Daeqwon Plowden would contribute a solid night as well, finishing with 17 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. The block would give Plowden sole possession of fourth on the all-time career block list.

Senior Matiss Kulackovskis would also have quite a night, finishing with a career-high 17 points, to go along with four rebounds.

Meanwhile on Tuesday night, the Falcons traveled down to Akron to take on the Zips, falling by a final of 82-68. 

It was another game in which the Falcons held strong for the majority of the game. The two teams would trade buckets back and forth in the first half, with the Zips holding onto a slim three point lead at halftime. 

However, a second half surge from the Zips, in which they would take a 15 point lead around the 10 minute mark, would prove to be insurmountable for the Falcons to overcome. 

Curtis would once again finish as the leading scorer with 21 points, to go along with a pair of assists and rebounds. 

Plowden would chip in 14 points and six rebounds in a strong supporting role. 

The Falcons have now lost five straight, and six of their last seven. 

With the top eight teams in the Mid-American Conference standings heading to Cleveland in a couple weeks for the MAC tournament, the Falcons sit one and a half games out of eighth place, with three games left in the regular season. 

The Falcons will be back home on Saturday afternoon for senior night against Western Michigan. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.

For more information about any of these games, as well as the game on Saturday, visit www.bgsufalcons.com.