Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
10-13, 4-6MAC
Akron
16-7, 8-2MAC
Falcons Suffer Heartbreaking Loss in the Final Seconds at Home to Akron
February 09, 2014 | Men's Basketball
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Holmes Dunk over Akron Defender (#SCTop10)
Bowling Green, Ohio – Bowling Green State University's Jehvon Clarke banked in a three-pointer from the top of the key with 12 seconds left in the game to tie the score at 63-63, only to see Akron's Quincy Diggs sink a long jump shot from the left wing on the ensuing possession with only four seconds remaining to send the Zips to a 65-63 win over the Falcons on Sunday night at the Stroh Center.
The Falcons fall to 10-13 overall and 4-6 in the MAC with the loss, while Akron improves to 16-7 overall and leads the East Division at 8-2.
Bowling Green erased a 14 point deficit to battle back and tie the game with just over 12 seconds to go in the game on a Clarke three-pointer and forced Akron to win the game as time ticked away in the contest.
BGSU had four players in double figures led by Clarke's game-high 19 points, while junior forward Richaun Holmes tallied his fifth double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds to also go along with his four steals and three blocked shots. Forward Spencer Parker had 12 points off the bench for BGSU, while senior center Cameron Black added 10 points, as the Falcons had five players total 34 minutes or more of court time in the loss.
For Akron, Demetrius Treadwell posted a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Diggs added 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Fellow starter Nick Harney had 11 points, while Reggie McAdams had nine points off the bench for the Zips.
Coming out of the halftime break, in which the Zips led 35-26, Akron pushed its lead back out to 14 at 41-27 on a Diggs jumper at the 18 minute mark of the second half.
As the Falcons have done all season long, BGSU refused to quit and looked towards its defense to fuel its offense, as the home team bounced back with a 15-5 run over the next 5:30 of play to trim the Zips' lead to four at 46-42 on a jumper from Anthony Henderson with 12:33 to go in the game.
After Akron pushed its lead back out to 10 on a dunk from Harney at the 9:34 mark, BGSU again battled back with buckets from Black, Clarke and Parker to once again get within four points of Akron at 52-48 with 7:21 to play.
Bowling Green would cut the Akron lead to three at 53-50 on a Clarke jumper, at 55-52 on a Clarke layup and at 57-54 on a Black jump hook in the paint, before back-to-back free throws from Holmes placed the Falcons down just one at 57-56 with 3:10 on the game clock.
Akron's Treadwell scored on a driving layup for the Zips on the next possession to give Akron a three-point lead at 59-56, only to see BGSU answer with a free throw from Holmes next time down to put the home team down just two at 59-57 with just over two minutes in regulation.
Following a Diggs jumper, Parker hit two straight free throws to keep BGSU down just two as time ticked down to under a minute in the contest.
With 46 seconds to play, Treadwell got an offensive tip-in basket to put Akron back out in front by four and keep the Falcons out of reach of taking the lead on one possession.
With less than a minute to play, Parker hit 1-of-2 free throws to put BGSU down three at 63-60.
The Falcons were forced to foul on the next Akron possession to try to extend the game.
Akron's Treadwell missed the front end of a 1-and-1, while Holmes hauled in the missed shot. Holmes handed the ball off to Clarke who calmly walked the ball up the court. As time ticked down, BGSU looked to attempt to run a play when Clarke pulled up from the top of the key and banked in a three-pointer over an Akron defender to tie the score up at 63-63 with 12 seconds to play.
The Zips pushed the ball up along the left sideline where Diggs faked a drive and pulled up for a jump shot just a foot inside the three-point line. The shot went through the net with just over four seconds to go in the game giving Akron a 65-63 lead.
BGSU's last chance heave at the buzzer went wide of the basket, as Akron escaped with the two point win.
With what has become accustomed with the Falcons this season, Bowling Green got off to a slow start offensively to start the contest and fell behind early at 9-2 on a three-pointer from Jake Kretzer with 15:04 to play in the opening half.
BGSU's next two baskets would both be thunderous throw downs from Holmes, as the second dunk was over an Akron defender and part of an old-fashion three-point play that put the Falcons within five at 15-10 with 11:09 to play before the halftime break.
After back-to-back three-pointers from Akron pushed the Zips' lead back to double digits at 21-10, the home team answered with a trey ball from Henderson and a tough layup from Parker to put the score at 21-15 at the 8:27 mark.
The Zips would outscore the Falcons 10-6 over the next six minutes of the contest to take its largest lead of the game at 14, 35-21, with 2:12 to go before the half, before Bowling Green closed out the opening period with a 5-0 run to cut the Akron lead back down to nine at 35-26 at the break.
The Falcons surrendered 11 points to the Zips on 12 turnovers over the first 20 minutes of play.
BGSU outscored Akron 36-24 in points in the paint and 16-15 in points off turnovers; however, Akron held an 18-12 advantage in second chance points as the Zips had 14 offensive rebounds overall.
BGSU held Akron to only 42.3 percent shooting (11-of-26) in the second half and shot better than the Zips for the game overall with a field goal percentage of 47.9 (23-of-48). However, Akron had seven more shot attempts than BGSU and made three more baskets for the game (26-of-55).
Bowling Green (10-13, 4-6 MAC) will hit the road for a mid-week contest on Wednesday, Feb. 12, at 7 p.m. at Kent State. The Falcons will face off with the Golden Flashes at 7 p.m. in Kent, Ohio.
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