Falcons Get First Road Win On New Year's Day

Saturday, January 1

Saint Louis, Mo.

4 pm

Bowling Green State University

Saint Louis

January 01, 2011 | Men's Basketball

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

Boxscore
Louis Orr Postgame Audio

St. Louis, Mo. – Dee Brown scored 21 points and A'uston Calhoun added 20 as the Bowling Green State University men's basketball team celebrated New Year's Day with a 67-61 win over Saint Louis. The victory was Bowling Green's third in a row and fourth in the past five games.

The Falcons picked up their first road win of the year by shooting 52 percent from the field and making 17-of-23 (73.9 percent) free-throws. Bowling Green committed just 12 turnovers and held a 33-28 rebounding edge, while dominating inside. The team had a 42-18 edge in points in the paint and got 40 points off the bench.

All of those factors contributed to the win despite the fact that Bowling Green did not make a three-pointer for the first time in a game in more than a decade. As well, Scott Thomas, the team's second-leading scorer, took just one shot and did not record a point.

For the second consecutive game, the Falcons came up big in the clutch. Saint Louis took a 44-43 lead on a pair of Paul Eckerle free-throws with 8:43 to go, but Bowling Green went on a 12-3 run in which Calhoun scored 10 points. He made two free-throws on the team's next possession and then scored with 6:35 to play to make it 49-44.

After the Billikens made 1-of-2 free-throws, Calhoun scored Bowling Green's next three buckets to give the Falcons a 55-47 lead with 3:26 to play. Brown had a three-point play with 3:06 left that pushed the lead to 10 and Saint Louis never got closer than four the rest of the way.

The Falcons overcame a career-night from Brian Conklin, who had a career-best 22 points to go with seven rebounds and three blocked shots. Saint Louis shot just 37 percent from the field and made 4-of-19 three-pointers.

Bowling Green shot 56 percent from the floor in the second half and Calhoun was 9-of-14 for the evening. Brown was 7-of-12 and Crawford made 6-of-8 free-throws and finished with 10 points and six assists. Torian Oglesby came off the bench to finish with eight points, on 4-of-4 shooting, and four rebounds. Thomas had a game-high eight rebounds and four steals.

After falling behind 7-2, Bowling Green battled back to take its first lead of the game on a Calhoun jumper with 10:37 to go to make it 11-9. The Falcons eventually went into the half with a 27-25 lead and the game teetered back and forth during the first 10 minutes of the second half.

Saint Louis drops to 5-8 on the year and Bowling Green improves to 5-9. The Falcons will have a week off before playing at Buffalo Saturday at 7 p.m. in the team's Mid-American Conference opener.

NOTES
* Bowling Green shot 50 percent from the floor for the third consecutive game and fourth time in the last five contests. The Falcons are 4-0 this year when reaching 50 percent from the field.

* It is the first time this year that the Falcons have won a game when scoring less than 70 points.

* BGSU had 40 points in the paint for the second time this year, outscoring Saint Louis 42-18. The Falcons had a season-high 44 points in the paint at Milwaukee.

* Saint Louis was 36-9 all-time in Chaifetz Arena prior to Saturday's game.

* Dee Brown and A'uston Calhoun are the first Bowling Green teammates to score 20 points in a game since Scott Thomas scored 27 and Brown added 21 in the team's win at Kent State on Jan. 17, 2010.

* Saint Louis head coach Rick Majerus was involved in a collision on the sideline with one of his players early in the second half. His player dove after a loose ball with 14:11 to play and hit Majerus around the knee area. He left the sideline and did not return to the game.