The Bowling Green men’s basketball team left Mount Pleasant, Michigan with an important win against the then first place Central Michigan Chippewas.
It took a team effort with five different players scoring in double digits for the Falcons, as they handed CMU their first loss at home this season.
Guard Anthony Henderson led the Falcons with 20 points and shot 8-of-12 overall. Jehvon Clarke added 18 points and four steals, while Zack Denny added 12.
Central Michigan guard Chris Fowler had a big night scoring also, accounting for over half of his teams points with 42.
At the end of regulation the score was tied 62-62 after Richaun Holmes blocked a Chippewa layup attempt, with that block the game went into overtime.
In overtime, Henderson and Clarke combined for 12 points, including a three from Henderson at the 1:09 mark to give the Falcons a 72-70 lead. They didn’t relinquish that lead and pushed their record to 14-6 and 6-3 in Mid-American Conference play.
With the win, the Falcons are now in a four-way tie for first place in the MAC East Division and a five-way tie for the best record overall in the MAC.
“We talked before the MAC schedule even begun that there was so much parity that we were going to be involved in a bunch of close games, not only us but in the whole league I thought. And we’ve already been in a bunch of close games and we’re just halfway through the schedule,” said head coach Chris Jans.
The Falcons went into halftime trailing 30-28 after a Fowler layup at the buzzer.
They made up that deficit and led by as many as eight points in the second half. The Chippewas battled their way back behind what seemed like the Chris Fowler show.
“I’m really proud of our guys. I thought they stuck together. It was another game where we had a pretty good lead and couldn’t put them away,” Jans said. “We could sit here and go over each and every big play, but there was a bunch of them. Richaun Holmes got us to overtime with the block, the rebound and the two free throws. Jehvon Clarke and Anthony Henderson hit some big shots down the stretch and if they don’t hit those shots, we probably lose the ball game. So, I’m really proud of them. It was just a nice, good, overall team win.”
The Falcons will stay on the road and play Northern Illinois Saturday night.
