Ypsilanti, Mich. – The Bowling Green Falcons improved to 12-5 overall and 3-1 in Mid-American Conference action with an 84-79 road victory at Eastern Michigan on Saturday afternoon inside the Convocation Center. The Falcons led by as much as 20 points in the second half of play.
Bowling Green led by as many as 20 points in the second half as the Falcons registered their second straight MAC road win. Eastern Michigan dropped to 10-7 (3-2 MAC).
BGSU was led offensively by . . .
Bowling Green led by as many as 20 points in the second half as the Falcons registered their second straight MAC road win. Eastern Michigan dropped to 10-7 (3-2 MAC).
BGSU was led offensively by . . .
. . . senior Spencer Parker, who poured in 21 points, including 12 second-half points, as the forward was 7-of-12 from the field overall. Parker added seven rebounds, which was tied for the team lead with Wes Alcegaire.
Alcegaire had 17 points, scoring nine in a three-possession stretch to expand the Falcons lead in the second half. Junior Zack Denny tallied 20 points for BGSU in the win, including 13 in the first half, as the sharp-shooter was 5-of-8 from behind the three-point line.
Guard David Joseph chipped in with nine points, on 3-of-6 shooting, and a game-high seven assists, while he matched Denny with a team-high three steals apiece.
The Eagles were led by the trio of Raven Lee, James Thompson IV and Ty Toney who combined for 68 of the team's 79 points in the loss. Lee finished with a game-high 29 points, on 9-of-22 shooting, while Thompson IV posted a double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Toney recorded 18 points and four rebounds, as he was 6-of-10 from the field overall.
Bowling Green shot 47.5 percent (28-of-59) overall for the game, including going 12-of-23 (52.2 percent) from long distance against the trademark Eastern Michigan 2-3 zone.
The BGSU defense held the Eagles to 44.1 percent (26-of-59) shooting for the game, but kept the Eagles in check from behind the three-point line at only 5-of-22 (22.7) from long range.
The Eagles, however, battled back into the game, shooting 53.3 percent (16-of-30) from the field overall in the second half and knocking down 22-of-25 (88 percent) from the charity stripe for the 40 minute contest.
The Falcons had perhaps their best first half of the season as BGSU tallied a season-high 44 points over the first 20 minutes of play as they hit 17-of-31 (54.8 percent) overall, including going 6-of-10 (60 percent) from behind the three-point arc.
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Alcegaire got the Falcons on the scoreboard first in the cross-divisional contest with a three-ball just under a minute into the opening half to put the visitors on top at 3-0. The trey was the first of four quick buckets for BGSU, who flew out to a 10-4 lead on a three-pointer from Denny at the 17 minute mark of the first half of play.
After Eastern Michigan used a quick 6-0 run, with all six points coming from Ty Toney over a minute stretch, to close the gap to two at 14-12 at the 13:42 mark of the first period, the Falcons got a jumper in the lane from Demajeo Wiggins, a trey from Parker and then turned a Denny steal into two free throws from Antwon Lillard to cap off a 7-0 spurt to push the Falcons' lead back out to eight at 20-12 with just over 12 minutes to play before the halftime break.
The Falcons continued to stay efficient on the offensive end, as EMU ended the 7-0 BGSU run with a free throw from Brandon Nazione, only to see BGSU respond with seven straight points once again to extend the Falcons' lead to double digits at 28-13 with 9:01 to play in the opening half.
During the Falcons two runs, BGSU shined on the defensive end, as the Eagles were held without a field goal for a total of 5:55 during that span with their lone four points coming from the free throw line.
The Falcons held EMU to 0-of-5 shooting and forced the Eagles into four turnovers over a near six-minute span midway through the first half A Tim Bond layup at the 7:47 mark ended the EMU field goal drought and put the score at 30-17 in favor of the visitors in orange.
Bowling Green was able to push the lead out to as much as 17 at 36-19 on a three-pointer from Joseph, only to see the home standing Eagles' Lee run off five straight points to put his team down just 12 at 36-24.
The Falcon defense then clamped down once again and fed their offense, as BGSU held EMU scoreless over the next three minutes of play to aid in a 6-0 surge to put the Falcons lead at 42-26 with 3:14 to go before the halftime intermission.
However, EMU wrapped up the first half with a 5-2 advantage in points over the final three minutes of the opening half to cut into the BGSU lead and put the score at 47-31 in favor of the Falcons at the halftime intermission.
Alcegaire and the Falcons kicked off the second half the same way they started the first with a three-ball from the junior guard, the first of two three-point baskets from the Falcons to open up the final 20 minutes of play, to give the visitors a 19-point lead at 50-31 with 18:55 to go in regulation.
The Falcons steadily stayed out in front of the Eagles for the next several minutes of play and picked up a 20-point lead at 57-37 on an old-fashion three-point play from Parker at the 16:19 mark of the second half.
BGSU weathered an EMU run over the next five minutes of action, as the Eagles got to within 12 at 57-45 with 11:47 left on the game clock on two straight free throws from Toney, only to see the Orange and Brown use two three-pointers from Alcegaire, a free throw from Rasheed Worrell and three more foul shots from Alcegaire to push the lead back out to 18 at 67-49.
After a layup in the paint from Lillard at the 9:09 mark put the Falcons up by 17, EMU refused to throw in the white towel, as the Eagles got hot on the offensive end to storm back into the contest with an 18-2 run to come within one score of BGSU at 69-67 on eight straight points from Lee.
With the lead gone, BGSU's Denny hit a three-pointer from the right wing to give the visitors breathing room at 72-67 with 5:08 to go in the game.
The Eagles' answered with a tip-in basket from Thompson IV to get within three at 72-69, yet Denny struck again for the Falcons, draining another three-pointer at the four minute mark to keep the visitors in front at 75-69.
Four straight free throws and a layup from Lee over the next 1:30 of play tied the score up at 75-75, the first tie of the game.
The next minute of the contest would see a strong layup down low on the block from Parker, two free throws from EMU's Lee and a big time tip-in dunk from Lillard to put the Orange and Brown on top at 79-77 with 1:27 left in the contest.
BGSU picked up two straight defensive stops and got one free throw apiece from leaders Parker and Denny to go ahead by four at 81-77 with 30 seconds on the game clock.
Lee would cut the Falcons' lead to two at 81-79 on two more free throws from Lee with 21 seconds to play, yet BGSU finished the game out on a high not going 3-of-4 from the free throw line and making the Eagles' Lee take a long contested three-point shot to try to tie the game late to escape with the 84-79 road win.
BGSU outscored the Eagles 32-28 in points in the paint and 17-12 in fast break points. The Falcons also out-rebounded EMU 38-34 for the contest.
The Falcons (12-5, 3-1 MAC) return home to host the Toledo, at 7 p.m. ET. Eastern Michigan will be at Akron (7 p.m. ET).
(Courtesy of BGSUAthletics)
Alcegaire had 17 points, scoring nine in a three-possession stretch to expand the Falcons lead in the second half. Junior Zack Denny tallied 20 points for BGSU in the win, including 13 in the first half, as the sharp-shooter was 5-of-8 from behind the three-point line.
Guard David Joseph chipped in with nine points, on 3-of-6 shooting, and a game-high seven assists, while he matched Denny with a team-high three steals apiece.
The Eagles were led by the trio of Raven Lee, James Thompson IV and Ty Toney who combined for 68 of the team's 79 points in the loss. Lee finished with a game-high 29 points, on 9-of-22 shooting, while Thompson IV posted a double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Toney recorded 18 points and four rebounds, as he was 6-of-10 from the field overall.
Bowling Green shot 47.5 percent (28-of-59) overall for the game, including going 12-of-23 (52.2 percent) from long distance against the trademark Eastern Michigan 2-3 zone.
The BGSU defense held the Eagles to 44.1 percent (26-of-59) shooting for the game, but kept the Eagles in check from behind the three-point line at only 5-of-22 (22.7) from long range.
The Eagles, however, battled back into the game, shooting 53.3 percent (16-of-30) from the field overall in the second half and knocking down 22-of-25 (88 percent) from the charity stripe for the 40 minute contest.
The Falcons had perhaps their best first half of the season as BGSU tallied a season-high 44 points over the first 20 minutes of play as they hit 17-of-31 (54.8 percent) overall, including going 6-of-10 (60 percent) from behind the three-point arc.
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Alcegaire got the Falcons on the scoreboard first in the cross-divisional contest with a three-ball just under a minute into the opening half to put the visitors on top at 3-0. The trey was the first of four quick buckets for BGSU, who flew out to a 10-4 lead on a three-pointer from Denny at the 17 minute mark of the first half of play.
After Eastern Michigan used a quick 6-0 run, with all six points coming from Ty Toney over a minute stretch, to close the gap to two at 14-12 at the 13:42 mark of the first period, the Falcons got a jumper in the lane from Demajeo Wiggins, a trey from Parker and then turned a Denny steal into two free throws from Antwon Lillard to cap off a 7-0 spurt to push the Falcons' lead back out to eight at 20-12 with just over 12 minutes to play before the halftime break.
The Falcons continued to stay efficient on the offensive end, as EMU ended the 7-0 BGSU run with a free throw from Brandon Nazione, only to see BGSU respond with seven straight points once again to extend the Falcons' lead to double digits at 28-13 with 9:01 to play in the opening half.
During the Falcons two runs, BGSU shined on the defensive end, as the Eagles were held without a field goal for a total of 5:55 during that span with their lone four points coming from the free throw line.
The Falcons held EMU to 0-of-5 shooting and forced the Eagles into four turnovers over a near six-minute span midway through the first half A Tim Bond layup at the 7:47 mark ended the EMU field goal drought and put the score at 30-17 in favor of the visitors in orange.
Bowling Green was able to push the lead out to as much as 17 at 36-19 on a three-pointer from Joseph, only to see the home standing Eagles' Lee run off five straight points to put his team down just 12 at 36-24.
The Falcon defense then clamped down once again and fed their offense, as BGSU held EMU scoreless over the next three minutes of play to aid in a 6-0 surge to put the Falcons lead at 42-26 with 3:14 to go before the halftime intermission.
However, EMU wrapped up the first half with a 5-2 advantage in points over the final three minutes of the opening half to cut into the BGSU lead and put the score at 47-31 in favor of the Falcons at the halftime intermission.
Alcegaire and the Falcons kicked off the second half the same way they started the first with a three-ball from the junior guard, the first of two three-point baskets from the Falcons to open up the final 20 minutes of play, to give the visitors a 19-point lead at 50-31 with 18:55 to go in regulation.
The Falcons steadily stayed out in front of the Eagles for the next several minutes of play and picked up a 20-point lead at 57-37 on an old-fashion three-point play from Parker at the 16:19 mark of the second half.
BGSU weathered an EMU run over the next five minutes of action, as the Eagles got to within 12 at 57-45 with 11:47 left on the game clock on two straight free throws from Toney, only to see the Orange and Brown use two three-pointers from Alcegaire, a free throw from Rasheed Worrell and three more foul shots from Alcegaire to push the lead back out to 18 at 67-49.
After a layup in the paint from Lillard at the 9:09 mark put the Falcons up by 17, EMU refused to throw in the white towel, as the Eagles got hot on the offensive end to storm back into the contest with an 18-2 run to come within one score of BGSU at 69-67 on eight straight points from Lee.
With the lead gone, BGSU's Denny hit a three-pointer from the right wing to give the visitors breathing room at 72-67 with 5:08 to go in the game.
The Eagles' answered with a tip-in basket from Thompson IV to get within three at 72-69, yet Denny struck again for the Falcons, draining another three-pointer at the four minute mark to keep the visitors in front at 75-69.
Four straight free throws and a layup from Lee over the next 1:30 of play tied the score up at 75-75, the first tie of the game.
The next minute of the contest would see a strong layup down low on the block from Parker, two free throws from EMU's Lee and a big time tip-in dunk from Lillard to put the Orange and Brown on top at 79-77 with 1:27 left in the contest.
BGSU picked up two straight defensive stops and got one free throw apiece from leaders Parker and Denny to go ahead by four at 81-77 with 30 seconds on the game clock.
Lee would cut the Falcons' lead to two at 81-79 on two more free throws from Lee with 21 seconds to play, yet BGSU finished the game out on a high not going 3-of-4 from the free throw line and making the Eagles' Lee take a long contested three-point shot to try to tie the game late to escape with the 84-79 road win.
BGSU outscored the Eagles 32-28 in points in the paint and 17-12 in fast break points. The Falcons also out-rebounded EMU 38-34 for the contest.
The Falcons (12-5, 3-1 MAC) return home to host the Toledo, at 7 p.m. ET. Eastern Michigan will be at Akron (7 p.m. ET).
(Courtesy of BGSUAthletics)
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