It was the conference opener for both teams. Bowling Green raised its overall record to 10-4, while the RedHawks fell to 6-8 for the season.
Miami trailed for the remainder of the first half after Bowling Green junior guard JD Tisdale scored on a layup at 11:30 to break a 12-12 tie. The RedHawks, however, managed to . . .
Junior guard Zack Denny, who hails form Germantown – relatively close to Miami -- led all scorers with eight points. As a team, BG hit 43.5 percent from the field and was 2 of 7 from beyond the arc.
Miami missed all four attempts from deep and connected on just 34.4 percent overall from the floor. Thanks to a 20-14 MU rebounding advantage, however, the RedHawks had one more field goal (11-10).
A free throw edge went to Bowling Green, which made 6 of 7 to the visitors’ 2 of 2. Charity tosses would eventually play an bigger role in the final stanza.
Both teams picked up their shooting early in the second period and Miami managed two quick ties (at 28 and 30). Denny hit a three from the top of the key to put the hosts back on top, 33-30 at 16-47, but with both teams hitting shots, Miami stayed right on the Falcons’ heels.
Willie Moore’s tip-in at 11:36 pulled MU to within a point one last time. Antwan Lillard scored inside for the first points in an 11-1 run. Denny kept it going when he recovered his own missed 3-point shot and put it back up. This one went in The Falcons totaled five treys on the night. Denny connected on 4 of 5 tries, while other BG players combined fo1 of 11.
That “other” three came from David Joseph and followed Wesley Alcagaire’s old-fashioned three. With 7:29 remaining, The Falcons owned a 53-42 advantage.
The last Bowling Green field goal was a bucket inside by Demajeo Wiggins to make it 587-45 with 5:25 remaining. From that point on, Falcons paraded to the line for 20 free throws, converting on 16 to seal the victory.
Denny led Bowling Green with 20 points and also contributed eight rebounds. Lillard, who made 8 of 10 free throws, contributed 16 points, while Wiggins recored 11 rebounds and two blocks to go with six points. Ismail Ali nearly reached double figures with nine markers.
Miami point guard Eric Washington led all scorers with 21 points. He went 7 of 9 at the line to account for half of Miami’s FT total and also registered both of MU’s 3-point goals. The senior went 2 for 6 from beyond the arc while the RedHawks collectively hit on 2 of 12 from long distance.
Miami held a 44-36 advantage on rebounds and had one more field goal (23-22 despite finishing at just 34.3 percent from the field. Bowling Green, which hit 44.0 percent from the floor had five 3-point goals and was 24 of 30 at the stripe to Miami’s 14 of 22 from the line.
Other RedHawks reaching double figures were Geovonie McKnight (15) and Kalif Wright (10 points in 16 minutes off the bench).
NEXT: Miami hosts Toledo Saturday (4 p.m. ET). Bowling Green is at Central Michigan Saturday (2 p.m. ET)