
Bowling Green won the opening tip and . . .
The UMKC lead was limited to just five minutes, as the Falcons stormed back with a 9-0 run of their own to grab a 25-20 advantage. Denny scored six points in the stretch, including a pair of layups.
The two teams traded baskets for the remainder of the first half, as the score bounced between a tie and a four-point lead for the Falcons. Dylan Frye's pair of free throws in the final half-minute of the opening frame gave BGSU a 37-35 halftime lead.
Lillard led all scorers with ten points at the break, but Denny was key with eight points and five rebounds. Those five helped BGSU earn a 24-14 edge on the boards, including nine on the offensive end. The Falcons also restricted UMKC's ability to capitalize on mistakes, as they scored just two points off 12 BGSU turnovers.
Lillard added to his scoring total with a three-point play to open the second half, and that keyed a 6-0 start to the final 20 minutes for the Falcons. The short run gave BGSU an eight-point lead, its biggest of the night, and the Falcons carried a 47-39 edge into the first media timeout of the half.
UMKC's LaVell Boyd sank a three after the timeout to cut the Falcons' lead to five, and the Kangaroos scored four more to drop the lead to one. BGSU responded with four straight; however, UMKC did the same, and midway through the second stanza, the lead stood at just 51-50.
Rasheed Worrell and Alcegaire each had thunderous dunks to give Bowling Green three-point leads as the second half progressed. Matt Fox's triple with 4:24 to play put the Falcons up 65-61.
UMKC followed with eight of the next ten points and earned a 69-67 edge with 94 seconds remaining. Ismail Ali tied the game with a layup, but on the next possession, Broderick Robinson pulled down a key offensive rebound after a Boyd miss. That gave UMKC a chance for the final shot, and Harrison nailed a floater with only 2.2 seconds on the clock.
Following a Falcons' timeout, Rasheed Worrell caught a full-court inbound pass and put up a fadeaway jumper, but it fell harmlessly off the rim.
Lillard's 19 points led the Falcons, while Zack Denny posted a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Demajeo Wiggins added eight rebounds, six of which came on the offensive end. As a team, the Falcons shot 39.3 percent and were 16-of-23 from the free throw line. They out-rebounded UMKC 47-33 and had a 32-30 scoring advantage in the paint.
Harrison (23) and Boyd (19) led UMKC in scoring. The Kangaroos made 42.6 percent of their shots and dropped in eight three-pointers.
Bowling Green falls to 0-3 on the season and will continue the Bill Frack Tournament at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 20 when it hosts the Green Bay Phoenix.
(Courtesy of BGSU Athletics)