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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Howard
Falcons Unable To Get Past Howard In Nation's Capital
November 12, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Louis Orr postgame audio
Boxscore
Washington, D.C. – The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team went over eight minutes without a field goal in the second half and came up short in the season-opener at Howard University Friday night, 54-52. Junior Scott Thomas, a preseason All-MAC East Division selection, had a game-high 20 points and added nine rebounds.
Bowling Green locked down defensively throughout the game, switching from man-to-man defense in the first half to a 2-3 zone for much of the second. Howard had just 30 points in the first stanza and 24 in the second.
But the Falcon offense struggled to find any rhythm all night. Bowling Green shot just 34.6 percent from the field and made only 2-of-16 three-pointers, including missing the final 12 long-range attempts of the night.
That second-half scoring drought came just as it looked as if Bowling Green was beginning to assert itself. After trailing 30-29 at the half, the Falcons went on a run that was sparked by three consecutive Cameron Black buckets to go ahead 42-36 with 14:25 to play. But neither team could make another field goal until Howard's Kyle Riley scored with 6:30 to play to bring his team within one at 43-42.
Dee Brown's jumper with 5:55 left gave Bowling Green a 45-44 lead but Howard battled back and took a 51-48 lead on a Calvin Johnson basket with 1:10 to play. After Bowling Green missed a lay-up, Brown had a steal and bucket to cut the deficit to one point with 34 seconds left. Howard raced back down the court and Alphonso Leary scored and was fouled with 31 seconds to play.
Leary made the free-throw to put the Bison up 54-50 but Luke Kraus was fouled attempting a three-pointer with 20 seconds left. He made 2-of-3 free-throws and the Falcons quickly fouled to put Kyle Riley at the line with 18 seconds remaining. He missed both free-throws but Brown's three-point attempt with nine seconds left was no good and Howard went back to the line again. With six seconds left, Mike Phillips missed both free-throws but the Falcons were unable to get off a final shot.
Besides Thomas' strong night offensively, Black had a strong game in his first collegiate game. Getting the start, he ended with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting with seven rebounds and a blocked shot. Sophomore Danny McElroy had a career-high 23 minutes off the bench, finishing with six points and a career-best 10 rebounds.
Howard moves to 1-0 with the win and Bowling Green falls to 0-1. The Falcons will hold their home opener Monday night against Ohio Dominican as the second game of a men's/women's doubleheader. The women will play at 6 p.m. and the men will follow.
