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BOWLING GREEN 61, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL 53

 
Thomas’ double-double was the first of the season for any Falcon, and he came up just two points shy of 1,000 for his career. Jordon Crawford added 15 points, four steals and three assists, while Torian Oglesby had 11 points and four rebounds off the bench. Oglesby was 5-for-5 shooting and has now made 16 consecutive field goal attempts over the past five games.
 
Bowling Green never led in the first half and fell behind by as many as 10 points late in the period. Jeremy Allen’s dunk with 5:15 to play in the first half gave FIU a 25-15 lead, but the Falcons closed with a 10-4 run. Crawford’s free-throws with five seconds remaining made it 29-25 Panthers at the break.
 
The Falcons shot only 28 percent in the opening half and were outrebounded 19-14. Bowling Green stayed in the game by turning the ball over only four times and holding FIU without a made three-pointer.
 
In the second half, Bowling Green made a concerted effort to get inside, scoring 22 points in the paint after just 10 in the first half. With that focus, the Falcons shot 58 percent from the floor and also took over on the boards, holding a 20-12 edge in the last 20 minutes.
 
FIU held a 35-29 lead in the second half before Crawford made a lay-up and then added two free-throws 90 seconds later. James Erger then scored on a baseline jumper to tie the game at 35-35.
The Falcons finally took their first lead of the contest on Dee Brown’s lay-up with 10:30 to play. The two teams took turns with the lead until Thomas’ jumper with 7:19 to play.
 
He followed that bucket with a three-pointer to make it 46-42, and Bowling Green never trailed again. FIU did get within three on Allen’s three-pointer with 2:59 to go, but Crawford scored on a step-back jumper with the shot clock running down on the next possession. While that shot was a dagger, Calhoun’s thunderous tip-dunk on the Falcons’ next trip down the floor was the exclamation point.
 
With the loss, FIU falls to 3-9 on the season. Bowling Green improves to 6-5 overall and gets its first road win on the third game of a current five-game road stretch. The Falcons will be back in action Wednesday at Duquesne at 7 p.m.

Courtesy of Bowling Green Athletics