 BOWLING GREEN 63, HOWARD 48 BGSU opened the Stroh Center by winning its home opener for the 20th consecutive season in front of 3,476 fans.
Bowling Green held Howard scoreless for more than six minutes and without a field goal for more than 10 minutes as the Falcons scored the first 13 points of the game. Howard did get as close as three points on two occasions, but Bowling Green answered both times and held a comfortable double-digit lead for much of the second half.
The Falcons forced 19 Howard turnovers and turned those into 20 points as four different players had two steals each. Bowling Green was able to get out and run and was affective in transition. The Falcons, though, struggled at times in the half court set and shot only 35 percent in the first half.
After BG jumped out to the early lead, Howard used a nine-point run, capped by a Dadrian Collins three-pointer, to get within three. It was at that point, though, that sophomore Craig Sealey took over for a short stint with a jumper and then a defensive rebound and an assist on a Dee Brown fast break basket. That stretch helped the Falcons take a 26-17 lead to intermission.
Howard again got to within three points as the Bison scored the first six points of the second half, but Brown knocked down a three-pointer and Luke Kraus followed with a pair of free-throws to make it 31-23 four minutes in. Jordon Crawford’s lay-up with 13:29 left gave the Falcons a 37-27 lead, and Bowling Green used a three-point play from Sealey, followed by a Luke Kraus three-pointer, to build a 43-30 advantage.
Scott Thomas knocked down a jumper with 9:28 to go, making it 45-30, and Howard never got closer than 11 the rest of the way.
Thomas just missed a double-double with 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists and a steal. Sealey began his second year with the Brown and Orange in strong fashion, finishing with 13 points, six rebounds and two steals. He also had a high-flying alley-oop late in the game that put an exclamation point on the win.
Jordon Crawford was solid in 33 minutes at point guard, ending with 13 points, four assists and two steals. Brown added 11 points and two steals, while Kraus finished with eight points, making two of his three three-point attempts.
After shooting just 35 percent in the first half, Bowling Green did find some offensive flow in the final 20 minutes, shooting 52 percent from the floor and committing only three turnovers. Howard held a decisive 38-27 rebounding edge but the Falcons were 17-of-23 (74 percent) from the free-throw line.
The win avenges a 54-52 loss to Howard on the road a year ago and makes the Falcons 1-0 heading into a nationally televised game Sunday. Bowling Green will play at Georgia, a team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago, at 6 p.m. on ESPNU.
Courtesy of Bowling Green Athletics
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