BG's Nate Miller had a game-high 17 points in losing effort.
BOWLING GREEN, OH - It was getting ugly Tuesday night. For the third straight game it appeared Bowling Green was going to fall apart in the second half.
Miami expanded a 30-27 halftime lead to 15 points, 46-31, less than six minutes into the second half, taking the Falcons apart with its transition game.
However, Bowling Green showed some grit and determination and battled back to close to within one point before falling 67-60. It was the third straight loss for the Falcons, now 8-9 overall and 1-3 in the Mid-American Conference.
The only positive thing about the game is that we played better in the second half, said BG senior Nate Miller. We kept fighting and fighting and gave ourselves a chance to win.
Bowling Green countered Miamis transition with some zone pressure that helped slow the RedHawks down and also led to some easy baskets for the Falcons. Freshman Scott Thomas had three steals while playing 13 minutes in the second half to help spark the Falcons.
We got down, but we didnt quit, BG head coach Louis Orr said. Our energy and our fight got us back in the game ... I liked the fact we played with some desperation, we scrapped and fought in the second half.
Scott Thomas, he is a high-energy guy. Darryl (Clements) did a really good job in the zone pressure, Orr added. I thought it got Miami out of rhythm.
Miller's 3-pointer, BGs first triple of the game, with 7:14 remaining to play, capped a 19-6 run which cut Miamis lead to 52-50.
Miami, with a total of 42 points in the paint, then got two layups to slow the Falcons down. BG responded with a steal and layup from Clements and after a RedHawk miss, Miller nailed a long 3-pointer with the shot clock under 10 seconds to make it 58-57 with 3:01 to play.
We got tired. Bowling Green, I dont know if they subbed more than us, but they subbed quicker than us ... and we barely had enough to finish, Miami head coach Charlie Coles said. I kind of knew they would come back on us.
Nate Miller ... I told him you never hit a free throw until you play us. Shooting 38 percent from the line, he goes 3-for-3. And then he gets two threes. He was 4-for-38 coming into the game, added Coles, who said he grew up and played with Millers grandfather on the same junior high team. They (BG) gave a great effort.
After Millers three, Miamis Antonio Ballard got an offensive rebound and fed Tyler Diekers for a layup. Diekers converted the shot and was fouled. His free throw put the RedHawks up 61-57 and BG was never able to recover.
Those are toughness plays. Those are plays that weve got to learn to make, Orr said about the key offensive rebound.
Orr continued to stress that the Falcons have to play better defense, not allow easy baskets and take care of the basketball. However, he said the team did play better offensively.
Offensively, I liked how we played the game, Orr said. Other than the turnovers, I thought we ran our offense and made some improvements. The shot selection was better ... We made our free throws.
NOTES: Miami is now 10-6 overall and 3-1 in the MAC ... Coles became Miamis all-time leader in victories with 217 ... Miller made his first start of the season replacing Brian Moten in the first five ... Miller finished with a game-high 17 points and added five rebounds, four assists and two steals ... BGs Chris Knight had a game-high 10 rebounds, the third time in the last seven games he has had double-digit effort in rebounds .
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