Falcons Light Up the Sun Dome in 79-70 Win Over USF

Tampa, Florida – The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team had four players score in double figures and shot 50 percent overall (26-of-52) from the field for the game as a team on its way to a 79-70 non-conference road win over the University of South Florida on Sunday afternoon in the Sun Dome in Tampa, Fla.

The win pushes the Falcons to 7-3 overall on the season, while the loss drops the Bulls to 6-7 on the season.

"It seemed like a back-and-forth game for the majority of the first half. We came out, I think right away in the second half, and got a few baskets and closed the three-point lead that they had. I thought it was a critical junction of the game when (Anthony) Collins got his third foul. He certainly was a load for us all afternoon. We didn't know what to do with him. We knew he was a good player coming into the game, but then when he jumped up and made the two three's that certainly adds to his versatility on the floor. I thought that was a big turning point in the game," commented head coach Chris Jans. "Then we went to a little bit of a zone and that kind of closed the game out for us."

Richaun Holmes led the Falcons once more, as the senior forward had 19 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in 31 minutes of play against a very big front line of USF.

Behind Holmes' 19 points was fellow senior Jehvon Clarke with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting, fellow guard Jovan Austin, who made his first start as a Falcon on Sunday, with 11 points, and sharp-shooter Zack Denny who finished with 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting from behind the three-point line.

For USF, big man Chris Perry had 21 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks, while point guard Anthony Collins totaled 20 points and six assists in the loss.

The start of the contest saw both teams go back-and-forth, as BGSU took a four-point lead at 7-3 on a three-ball from the left corner from Denny at the 16:33 mark, only to see the Bulls bounce back to take an 8-7 lead at the 15:04 mark on a jumper from Perry.

BGSU retook the lead and pushed it out to as high as four points again at 12-8 on another three-pointer from Denny and then once again at 17-13 minutes later on a driving layup from David Joseph with 10:30 to go in the opening half.

Every time the Falcons' lead got to four points, which was two more times in the opening frame, USF responded, as the home team in white battled back to take a four-point lead of its own at 29-25 on a 10-2 run over three minute span which was capped off by back-to-back free throws from Jaleel Cousins with 4:02 before the halftime break.

A three-pointer from Anthony Henderson, followed by a free throw from Holmes and then a two-handed slam by the 6-8 forward, knotted the score up at 31-31 with just over a minute to go before the break.

However, the Bulls' Collins finished the half out with three straight points to give USF a 34-31 halftime lead.

Despite the fact that the Bulls shot 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) in the second half of play, the Falcons overcame the three-point halftime deficit with hot-shooting of its own, connecting on 14-of-25 (56 percent) of its shots over the final 20 minutes of play to score a season-high 48 points in the second period to earn the come from behind win.

The strong second half for BGSU started with a baseline jumper from Henderson and a layup from Austin to cut the USF lead to just one at 36-35 with 18:37 to go in the contest.

BGSU then put the Bulls in quick foul trouble and used a second three-pointer from Henderson and a layup from Spencer Parker over the next several minutes to retake the lead at 41-40 with just less than 17 minutes remaining.

Two free throws apiece from Austin and Parker put the Falcons up two at 45-43, but more importantly kick-started a 15-8 run by the visitors in orange who ran out to a 56-48 lead on an old-fashion three-point play from Holmes with exactly 10 minutes to go in regulation.

The Bulls refused to go away, however, as USF used a quick 9-2 offensive spurt to trim the Falcons' lead back to just one at 58-57 with 7:40 left to play on the game clock.

Following a layup from Austin and a USF layup on the right block from Bo Zeigler the Falcons' again found themselves up just one point at 60-59.

The Falcons did not panic, but rather answered the challenge with a jumper from Clarke, four straight free throws, and two straight three-balls from Clarke and Denny, to push its lead out to nine at 72-63 with 2:42 left in the contest.

After a jumper from the Bulls' Corey Allen, Jr., put the BGSU lead back down to seven points at 72-65, a follow up dunk by Holmes off a Joseph missed field goal attempt seconds later pushed the lead back out to nine points for the Orange and Brown at 74-65 and all but put a dagger into the Bulls' chances to win the game.

Down the stretch, the Falcons went 5-of-8 from the free throw line over the final 1:14 of the contest to deter any comeback attempt from home standing Bulls and iced the 79-70 road victory.

Bowling Green was 26-of-52 (50 percent) overall from the floor, while the Bulls also shot 50 percent for the game at 25-of-50. Yet, the Falcons hit nine three-pointers (9-of-22) compared to USF's four (4-of-13) and held a two point edge at the free throw line with 18 made free throws to 16 by the Bulls.

Both teams scored 30 points apiece in points in the paint; however, the Falcons outscored the Bulls 22-9 in second chance points and 13-11 in points off turnovers. BGSU edged USF in bench points at 22-21.

The two teams each posted 14 assists and 31 rebounds for the game, yet BGSU only coughed the ball up nine times compared to the Bulls' 12 turnovers on the afternoon.

The Falcons (7-3) will conclude its non-conference slate this Saturday, Jan. 3, as BGSU will host Chicago State at 7 p.m. as the second part of a doubleheader with the women's basketball team.

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Notes
* BGSU improves to 3-0 this season in games following a loss.
* The win was the Falcons first-ever victory over the Bulls of South Florida (1-3 all-time).
* BGSU is now 1-1 all-time in the Sun Dome.
* The Falcons are now 3-2 on the road this season.
* Bowling Green finished the month of December at 3-3 overall.
* BGSU improves to 6-0 on the year when making more free throws than its opponents.
* The 48 points in the second half is the most points in a single half of play for the Falcons this season.
* The 50 percent shooting for BGSU marks the third time this season that the Falcons have shot over 50 percent overall as a team for the game (at Drake, vs. Alabama A&M, at South Florida).
* The nine turnovers by the Falcons matches their season low for a game (at Drake, vs. SEMO, at South Florida).
* BGSU's nine three-pointers is the second most in a single game this season (11 at Drake).

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Richaun Holmes

Jehvon Clarke

Jovan Austin

Zack Denny

Players Mentioned

Jovan Austin

Jehvon Clarke

Zack Denny

Anthony Henderson

Richaun Holmes

David Joseph

Spencer Parker

Players Mentioned

Jovan Austin

Jehvon Clarke

Zack Denny

Anthony Henderson

Richaun Holmes

David Joseph

Spencer Parker

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