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Brown Shines In Falcons Win Over FIU |
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Written by Mike Smith
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BOWLING GREEN, Oh. - When you come from the Detroit area like Dee Brown, you know about former Detroit Piston all-star Isiah Thomas. Now Thomas knows something about Dee Brown.
Brown hit 8-of-16 shots from the floor Monday while leading Bowling Green to a 67-62 win over Florida International.
The Golden Panthers are coached by Thomas, who took over the FIU basketball program earlier this year after retiring from the NBA and holding several NBA coaching and executive positions. Thomas brought the Panthers to Bowling Green on the second stop of an eight-game stretch of road contests. After playing at home Nov. 23, FIU will not play at home game again until Dec. 31.
“It was a good motivator for me,” Brown said of playing against a Thomas-coached team. “I was excited …. He (Thomas) was one of my favorite players …. I just try to play aggressive like he did.”
“I think Dee Brown came up big for us – real big,” BG coach Louis Orr said after the victory. “When we couldn’t get buckets, he manufactured them.”
Bowling Green (2-3) built up a 39-26 halftime lead and expanded its advantage to 17 points twice on Marc Larson buckets early in the second half.
The lead stayed in double digits until midway through the period. Florida International cut it to five points with 9:05 left on a basket by Antoine Watson.
“Isiah changed things up in the second half. We had a feeling that might happen,” said Orr, who played against Thomas when the two were in the NBA.
The lead hovered in the six-to-eight point range for much of the remaining time. Florida International couldn’t catch up, but Bowling Green couldn’t quite shake the Golden Panthers, either.
After shooting 53.3 percent from the field before intermission, BG slipped to 40 percent (8-of-20) after the break. The Falcons also missed opportunities at the line in both halves. They were 14-of-27 (51 percent) for the game and 10-of-19 (52 percent) in the final period.
“We struggled at the free throw line, and we made some untimely fouls late,” Orr said. “We’ve got to do a better job at the free throw line …. It’s been a struggle for us. It seems to be contagious now.”
The visitors closed to within three (65-62) with 39 seconds left on a pair of Watson free throws. Scott Thomas made it a four-point game when he sank one of two free throws with 25 ticks left.
“At the end, we had two big defensive stops … and in my opinion, that was the difference in the game,” Orr said.
One of those stops came with 12 seconds left when Larson blocked a Watson shot. The Falcons came up with the ball and Erik Marshall was fouled. He made one of two with nine seconds remaining to give the hosts their final five point margin.
“We persevered. We grinded it out,” Orr said. “Our defense really got the job done for us, even when they were making their run in the second half.”
Three FIU players were in double figures. Marvin Roberts, Watson and Phil Gary all scored 13 points.
Joining Brown in double figures for BG was Thomas with 10 markers.
Otis Polk had 11 rebounds to lead the Falcons in that category. Bowling Green outrebounded FIU 39-28. The hosts also benefitted from advantages in second chance points (13-7) and points in the paint 28-16.
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