BGSU Explodes For 60 In Second Half But Comes Up Short Against KSU

Saturday, January 14

Kent, Ohio

7:00 pm

Bowling Green State University

7-9, 1-2MAC

Kent State

12-4, 2-1MAC

Team	1	2	F
Bowling Green	27	60	87
Kent State	45	47	92

Photo by: Doug Sampson

BGSU Explodes For 60 In Second Half But Comes Up Short Against KSU

January 14, 2012 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

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

Boxscore (.html)
Louis Orr Postgame Audio

Kent, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University men's basketball scored 60 second-half points and almost overcame a 19-point deficit in a 92-87 loss to Kent State Saturday night at the M.A.C. Center.

The 60-point half was the biggest offensive output in more than a decade for the Falcons but it was not enough to make up an 18-point halftime deficit. Bowling Green trailed 45-27 at the half and fell behind by 19 at 61-42 with 12:34 to go before a furious rally got the Falcons back in the game.

Kent State dominated the first 27 minutes but a Torian Oglesby dunk was followed by a Scott Thomas three-pointer, one of his four on the evening, to make it 61-47 and start a 13-0 run. Jordon Crawford knocked down a jumper and Craig Sealey, who played 19 active minutes off the bench, scored inside on a lay-up to get Bowling Green within 10 at 61-51.

Following an Oglesby steal, Dee Brown scored on the fastbreak to make it 61-53. Sealey added another basket with 8:56 left to cut the deficit to six. Kent State weathered the storm and pushed the lead back to 10 on a Michael Porrini three-pointer with 3:47 left, but the Falcons were far from done, scoring 22 points the rest of the way.

James Erger started the scoring burst with a three-pointer and that was followed by four more long-range bombs down the stretch. Kent State, though, made 13 free-throws in the final four minutes and Bowling Green never had possession with a chance to tie.

Thomas had a season-high 23 points, scoring 21 after halftime. Oglesby and Sealey played well off the bench, combining for 27 points and 19 rebounds on 12-of-14 shooting. Oglesby's 16 points and 12 rebounds were his second double-double of the season and third of his career. Crawford bounced back from a rough game Wednesday against Ohio to post a career-best 13 assists, 10 of which came in the second half. Dee Brown added 12 points on 2-of-4 three-pointers and added four assists.

After being outrebounded 20-14 in the first half, the Falcons crashed the boards hard in the second half and won the rebounding battle 25-12 in the final 20 minutes. Bowling Green shot 57 percent from the floor in the second half and made 9-of-17 three-pointers. For the game, the Falcons were 51 percent from the field and 46 percent from three-point range.

Although Bowling Green jumped out to a 15-7 lead in the first half, Kent State stormed back with a 17-2 run and then closed the period with a 19-6 spurt to build an 18-point halftime lead.

The 60 points in the second half were the most since the Falcons scored 60 against Defiance on Nov. 24, 2001.

Kent State improves to 12-4 overall and 2-1 in MAC play. Bowling Green falls to 7-9 and 1-2 in conference action. The Falcons will look to end its two-game losing streak Wednesday at Miami at 7 p.m. The RedHawks are 5-10 overall and have an identical 1-2 conference mark.