A’uston Calhoun once again proved he has the capability to take over a game.
The junior forward scored a game-high 27 points, including 17 in the second half, to help BG overcome a three-point deficit to win 61-54 against Ball State on Wednesday.
“We got eight of 11 stops down the stretch, and A’uston really carried us offensively to that point,” said coach Louis Orr.
Tied at 48 with just over three minutes to go in the game, Dee Brown hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give the Falcons a lead they would not relinquish.
Orr credited the composure of Brown, who scored 12 points on the evening, as well as Calhoun’s presence on the court. In a 3 1/2 minute stretch mid-way through the second half, Calhoun scored 13 consecutive points for BG.
“We wanted to get the ball to A’uston as much as possible,” Orr said. “But A’uston really created the shot for Dee, because [Ball State] was so concerned with [Calhoun’s] offense.
“Dee’s one of our best shooters, and he stepped up and made some big shots. I give credit to Dee Brown … for a guy who hadn’t hit a three to step up and hit two big ones, he showed a lot of courage and leadership.”
The Falcons were able to get the ball inside early, scoring 20 points in the paint during the first half. That strategy continued throughout the game, as BG scored 14 more points in the paint during the second half and had 10 second-chance points.
The Falcons shot 46.2 percent for the game, and made 10-of-13 free throw attempts.
The win is also BG’s third in a row, the first time all season the Falcons have posted a winning or losing streak of three or more games. The streak comes at an opportune time for BG, as it is locked in a tight Mid-American Conference East Division race.
The win moved the Falcons’ record to 12-11 overall, 6-4 in conference play. Although the Falcons have a better conference record than every team in the West Division, they sit at fifth place in the East. They are three games behind division leader Akron, two behind Buffalo and one game behind Ohio and Kent State.
Saturday, the Falcons will try to extend their win streak to four in the hardwood edition of the Battle of I-75 against Toledo at the Stroh Center.
The Rockets are 11-13 overall, 3-7 in the MAC. Their run through the MAC East hasn’t been met with much success. After a win against Miami, the Rockets lost three straight games before defeating Ohio Wednesday night.
Despite this, the Rockets have one of the top players in the conference in Rian Pearson. The sophomore guard is leading the league in scoring at 17.4 point per game, and is third in the league in rebounds with 8.4 per game.
The Wisconsin-Green Bay transfer sat out last season due to NCAA rules.
Saturday’s game is scheduled to tip off at 4 p.m.
