 BOWLING GREEN 72, WESTERN MICHIGAN 48
Bowling Green has struggled on the road, going 2-8, and in closing out games all season.
Wednesday night, the Falcons played at Western Michigan, where the Broncos were 9-0 at home coming into the game.
So what happens? Bowling Green made 14 of its first 15 shots to start the second half on the way to a 72-48 rout of the Broncos. BG shot 76 percent (19-of-25) fro the field in the second half.
“This was one of those nights at both ends of the court ... We have had some tough losses up here over the years, and this was kind of surreal,” BG head coach Louis Orr said. “It was a good team effort.”
Things started slowly for the Falcons, and Bowling Green led by just two points at the half, 24-22.
Then in the first nine minutes of the second half, BG scored 25 points. The Falcons never let up, pushing the lead to as many as 30, until Western Michigan hit a pair of 3-pointers late to get back to within 24.
BG’s Dee Brown scored 16 of his game-high 21 points in the second half, connecting on 5-of-8 shots and both of his 3-point attempts after the break.
“Dee Brown played really well for us all the way around,” Orr said. “He made baskets from the start to the end.”
Also for the Falcons, Jordon Crawford was 5-of-5 from the field in the second half and had 13 points and seven assists in the final 20 minutes, finishing with 16 points and eight assists. Teammate A’uston Calhoun had 12 of his 15 points in the second stanza, making 6-of-7 shots.
Leading by 10 at 40-30 with 13:49 left in the game, the Falcons went on a 24-5 run to put things away. Brown, Calhoun, and Crawford scored 22 of the 24 points on that run, and it was capped by a mammoth dunk from Calhoun that made it 64-35.The Falcons eventually led by 30 on an Anthony Henderson dunk with 2:11 to play.
Bowling Green also played a strong defensive game, forcing 22 turnovers which were turned in 33 points by the Falcons. BG held WMU is 39.2 percent shooting from the field, including a 3-of-12 effort on 3-pointers.
“Turnovers are sometimes like fuel to the fire, like tonight,” Orr said. “Over the last three games, we have ... held our opponents under less than 40 percent field goal percentage. It’s probably the best three games defensively of the year.”
NOTES: BG is now 10-11 overall and 4-4 in the Mid-American Conference while WMU is 10-12, 4-4 ... It was Bowling Green’s first win in University Arena since 2002, ending a string of seven consecutive losses in the building ... The 24-point win represented Bowling Green’s largest road MAC victory since the team defeated Eastern Michigan 71-45 on Feb. 17, 2001 ... Scott Thomas had three steals in the game and is now in fourth place all-time at Bowling Green with 179 steals ... BG hosts Northern Illinois Saturday at 6 p.m. in a game to be televised on STO.
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