With the loss, Bowling Green falls to 3-5 on the season. Cincinnati, which defeated No. 19 Iowa State on the road earlier in the week, improved to 7-1 in 2016-17.
"Their defense is . . .
"I thought Wes did a great job of holding his own. Zack Denny was really good for us. Those were our two leading scorers, and they were ready for the challenge. Ish (Ismail Ali), I thought, did a great job. The guys are coming along. A lot of these guys are still new. We are still a young team. We have freshmen and sophomores who are still learning how to win at this level, and how to play at that pace."
The Falcons hung around in the first half, and trailed by just seven points with 5:49 to go. BGSU was close to reaching intermission down just 11, but Cincinnati hit two triples in the final 42 seconds, including a buzzer beater, to take a 41-24 lead at the break.
The Falcons could not draw closer in the second half, as Cincinnati shot 55.7 percent (34-of-61) for the game, and outscored BGSU by a 44-32 margin in the second half to pull away with the win. Bowling Green was held to 36.8 percent (21-of-57) shooting. Both teams made six threes, while UC hit three more free throws.
Seniors Zack Denny and Wes Alcegaire led the Falcons in scoring with 16 points apiece. Alcegaire added five rebounds, and went 6-for-11 from the field. Denny chipped in with four rebounds, hit 2-of-5 triples, and connected on 6-of-12 shots from the floor.
Ismail Ali scored seven points and dished out six assists. Rasheed Worrell and Demajeo Wiggins had four points apiece, while Rodrick Caldwell, Matt Fox and Dylan Frye hit one three-pointer for the Falcons.
Bowling Green will stay on the road to face Evansville on Tuesday (Dec. 6) night. The game is scheduled for an 8 p.m. tip.
(Courtesy of BGSU Athletics)