 BOWLING GREEN 73, BUFFALO 71, OT BG ON A ROLL
The win was the Falcons’ fourth in a row and second consecutive road win. It was also the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams and the first time BG won its MAC road opener since the 2001-02 season.
“I feel over the last five games that each player has just developed a sense of urgency to contribute to the team and to make the team better,” said BG’s A’uston Calhoun. “Over these last five games everybody has gotten better individually, which in turn helps us to get better as a team.
“That makes us feel a little bit more comfortable. We go out there with a little more confidence each and every game that we play, and you can sense that.”
Buffalo led by as many as eight points in the first half and took a 36-30 lead into the break.
Bowling Green, however, went on a 10-2 run to open the second half. The two teams then traded the lead for much of the rest of regulation.
BG’s Jordon Crawford scored on a layup with 1:24 left to put the Falcons on top 59-56. Buffalo’s Javon McCrea scored inside with 41 seconds left to cut the deficit to one and Luke Kraus made 1-of-2 free-throws to put Bowling Green up by two. Jawaan Alston was fouled with three seconds left and he made both charity shots to send the game to overtime.
OVERTIME
In the first overtime session, Calhoun completed a three-point play that gave the Falcons the lead. Bowling Green’s lead was pushed to four on a Cameron Black layup but Buffalo rallied and tied the game on a Mitchell Watt layup with two seconds to go that sent the game to a second overtime.
In the second overtime Byron Mulkey knocked down a jumper with 3:54 to play to give Buffalo a 71-69 lead. Kraus had a steal and layup to tie it at 71-71 with 2:35 to play, and it would remain that way until McElroy scored inside with 24 seconds left.
Buffalo worked for a shot to tie the game but Watt missed from close range and Thomas grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He made 1-of-2 free-throws with four seconds left and Mulkey’s long-distance effort to tie the game did not fall.
Calhoun ended with a game-high 20 points and came up one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards. Thomas had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, making 8-of-12 shots. He added three assists, two steals and a blocked shot while playing 46 minutes. McElroy had 13 points. Black finished with seven points and a career-best 11 rebounds.
“The more he plays, he’s getting a better feel for what he has to do to be successful,” BG head coach Louis Orr said about Calhoun, who was 9-of-20 from the field. “He’s really been stepping up his game in a lot of areas.”
Bowling Green shot over 50 percent from the floor for the fourth consecutive game, finishing at 51.7 percent.
GOOD JOB SHARING
“We’ve been doing a good job sharing the ball the last six games. We’ve been making the game easier for each other,” Orr said. “Against Buffalo you had to make the extra pass because they are such a great help team.”
Buffalo, which entered the game as the MAC’s best shooting team, finished at just 39.4 percent, and that included a strong 57.7 percent in the first half. Over the final 30 minutes, Buffalo made just 13-of-45 (28.9 percent) shots.
“Our defense has really picked up the last three games. Our goal is always to hold a team under 40 percent from the field,” Orr said. “We picked it up in the second half.”
Buffalo also entered the game as the top rebounding team in the MAC, but Bowling Green controlled the boards, 46-37. The Falcons also dominated in the paint with a 50-34 scoring advantage and had 11 steals.
If not for a poor night at the free-throw line (Bowling Green went 11-of-24, 45.8 percent), the Falcons might have put Buffalo away in regulation.
“You have to give Bowling Green credit. They won the basketball game,” Buffalo head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. “But we missed point-blank shots at the basket, and in a game like this, you can’t give those away. We missed a ton of shots that were point blank.”
NOTES: BG is now 6-9 overall while Buffalo is 8-5 ... 50 of BG’s 74 points came in the paint against Buffalo ... Buffalo’s Mulkey played the entire 50 minutes ... BG plays at Kent State Tuesday with tipoff at 7 p.m. Buffalo is at Miami (7 p.m.)
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