Bowling Green Goes Cold In 64-59 Loss To Ball State

Thursday, February 4

Muncie, Ind.

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Ball State

February 04, 2010 | Men's Basketball

By: by Jason Knavel, Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications

Boxscore
Louis Orr Postgame Audio
Todd Walker Recaps The Game (Audio)

Muncie, Ind. – The Bowling Green men's basketball team almost overcame a 13-point second half deficit but came up just short in a 64-59 Mid-American Conference loss at Ball State Thursday night.

After falling behind 50-37, Bowling Green held Ball State without a field goal for just over nine minutes and got within two points on Dee Brown's 10-foot jumper with 3:11 to play. But Scott Thomas' leaner with 2:25 to play rimmed in-and-out and Ball State scored the next seven points to put the game away.

Terrence Watson made a pair of free-throws with 2:09 left to give the Cardinals a 53-49 lead but Bowling Green missed three shots on its next possession and once Ball State corralled the rebound, Jauwan Scaife put the nail in the coffin with a three-pointer with 59 seconds left. That was the Ball State's first basket since the 10:23 mark of the second half.

Despite holding a 39-29 advantage in points in the paint, Bowling Green settled for jump shots far too often, attempting a season-high 21 three-pointers and making just four. The Falcons shot only 35 percent for the game but gave themselves a chance by grabbing 19 offensive rebounds and holding a 43-37 edge on the boards.

In the first half, Ball State scored the first five points of the contest but Bowling Green came back with a 19-8 run, capped by a Jordon Crawford three-pointer, to take its largest lead of the game at 19-13. Ball State fought back and Randy Davis' jumper with two seconds remaining gave the Cardinals a 27-24 halftime advantage.

In the second half, Ball State used an early 10-2 run to take a 44-32 lead and then extended it to 13 on a Watson lay-up with 10:23 to go. But that was the team's final field goal until the last minute of action.

Bowling Green's post players struggled with foul trouble throughout the evening as Erik Marschall had three at the half and Otis Polk had two. Marschall ended up fouling out with 5:21 to play and Polk finished with four fouls. But Marc Larson stepped up with extended minutes, posting nine points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots, making 3-of-6 field goals and all three of his free-throw attempts.

Dee Brown and Joe Jakubowski shared team scoring honors with 13 points each. Thomas struggled shooting all night but finished with his second career double-double, posting 10 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots. Marschall had six points and six rebounds and Polk finished with five points and nine boards.

Ball State improves to 12-9 overall and 6-3 in MAC play after winning four in a row against MAC East opponents. Bowling Green falls to 11-10 overall and 4-5 in league play. The Falcons will play at Western Michigan Saturday at 2 p.m.