 BOWLING GREEN 71, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 58
The win snapped a two-game home losing streak for the Falcons and pushed the team’s conference record back to .500 at 3-3. Four players scored in double-figures for Bowling Green and six players had at least six points.
Bowling Green, who never trailed in the final 32 minutes, took a 10-point lead into halftime and led by as many as 20 in the second half. Central Michigan closed the game on a 9-2 run to get the deficit down to 13, but the Falcons used an impressive shooting performance in the second half to put the game away.
Leading 31-21 at the half, the Falcons made six of their first seven shots in the second half to push the lead to 17. Two of those shots were Dee Brown 3-pointers, the latter of which gave Bowling Green a 48-31 lead with 14:55 to play.
Central Michigan did use a 10-2 run to get back to within single digits, but the Falcons answered with an identical 10-2 run, capped off by an A’uston Calhoun lay-up, that made it 60-43 with 7:06 left.
Scott Thomas’ third three-pointer of the game gave Bowling Green its largest lead at 69-49 with 2:09 left before the Chippewas closed the game with a 9-2 run.
Thomas, Calhoun and Jordon Crawford all finished with 14 points. Calhoun added 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the year. Crawford, meanwhile, played an excellent game running the offense and registering seven assists to go with only two turnovers. Bowling Green committed just 11 turnovers in the game, two less than Central Michigan.
Brown added 12 points, making 2-of-4 3-pointers while Torian Oglesby came off the bench to score eight points on 3-of-3 shooting and block two shots. Cam Black finished with six points, three rebounds, three blocked shots, and three steals.
Thomas had yet another all-around game to go with his 14 points. He made 3-of-7 3-pointers, added eight rebounds, four steals, and two assists. It is his third consecutive game with at least four steals.
The one area that Central Michigan dominated came on the boards. The Chippewas held a 41-29 rebounding edge and grabbed a remarkable 25 offensive rebounds. That is the most BG has allowed in the five-year Louis Orr era. Those 25 offensive rebounds turned into a 27-13 Central Michigan advantage on second-chance points.
Bowling Green shot 51 percent from the floor for the game and held Central Michigan to 37 percent shooting. The Falcons also had their best night of the year from the line, making a season-high 18 free-throws and shooting a season-best 86 percent (18-of-21).
With the loss, Central Michigan falls to 7-12 on the year and 2-4 in MAC play. Bowling Green improves to 9-10 overall and evens its league record at 3-3. The Falcons will face Eastern Michigan, a team that is 9-11 overall and 4-2 in MAC play, Saturday in Ypsilanti at 6 p.m. Central Michigan hosts Akron Saturday (7 p.m.).
Courtesy of Bowling Green Athletics
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