Strong Team Effort in the Second Half Propels Falcons to MAC Opening Win

Wednesday, January 7

Kent, Ohio

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

9-3, 1-0MAC

Kent State

9-5, 0-1MAC

Bowling Green

Kent State

Photo by: BGSU Marketing and Communications

Strong Team Effort in the Second Half Propels Falcons to MAC Opening Win

January 07, 2015 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: by Kevin Davis, Assistant Director for Athletic Communications

Kent, Ohio – Behind junior Spencer Parker's 16 second half points, the Bowling Green State University men's basketball team outscored Kent State 40-29 over the final 20 minutes of play to erase a double digit first half deficit and pick up a 66-64 come from behind win over the Golden Flashes in the two teams' MAC opener on Wednesday night at the M.A.C. Center in Kent, Ohio.

Bowling Green, who has won three straight contests, improves to 9-3 overall and 1-0 in the MAC with the win. The loss drops Kent State to 9-5 overall and 0-1 in league play.

"It was one of those games where it was a tale of two halves. The game started back-and-forth. No one could establish themselves and then they got on a little bit of a spurt, got some separation and it kind of deflated us a little bit. We made some uncharacteristic plays in the late first half and the game went from manageable to we were down maybe 12 or 13. I think the two plays to end the half to get it to nine were confidence builders," commented head coach Chris Jans. "Obviously we played with a little more energy (in the second half). That usually happens with the team that is down. They try to fight a little harder. I was glad to see that. We played some zone and it was effective for a while and it changed the momentum of the game. So, from where I sat it was just the tale of two halves."

Richaun Holmes, who carried the Falcons in the first half, totaled a team-high 20 points, five rebounds and three blocks, while Parker chipped in 16 points, including 12 in the final five minutes of play, on 6-of-11 shooting in the game. Anthony Henderson, Zack Denny and Jehvon Clarke each added seven points apiece, while Jovan Austin dished out six assists in the win.

Kent State's Jimmy Hall scored a game-high 35 points, on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor overall, while Devareaux Manley poured in 13 points. Chris Ortiz grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to go with his eight points in the loss.

The game started as expected, as the two teams traded both baskets and the lead for most of the first half when Kent State got back-to-back baskets from Kris Brewer and Hall to tie the score up at 18-18 with 6:52 to go in the opening half.

The two buckets jump-started an 18-0 run by the home team in white, as the Golden Flashes raced out to a 14-point lead at 32-18 on a layup by Ortiz with 2:47 to go in the opening period.

After Kent State pushed the lead out to 15 at 35-20 on a three-pointer from Ortiz at the 1:31 mark, the Falcons answered back with six straight points topped off by a fast break layup from David Joseph as the first half expired to put the score at 35-26 in favor of Kent State heading into the halftime break.

Parker opened up the second half with a reverse layup, as the Falcons chipped away at the Kent State lead over the next seven minutes of play to get to within one point at 40-39 on a thunderous two-handed slam in transition from Holmes with 13:24 to go in regulation.

Following a rebound and put back basket from Holmes at the 12:21 mark, which gave the Falcons back the lead, the two teams traded baskets and the lead again for the next several possessions, until a 12-2 run by the Golden Flashes allowed the home team in white to pull out to an eight point lead at 54-46 with just over eight minutes to play.

Down just five at 57-52 with 6:13 to play after back-to-back three-balls from Clarke and Holmes, Parker took over the game on the offensive end as the BGSU defense clamped down on the Kent State offense.

Parker would run off 12 straight points for the Falcons over the next four minutes of play, highlighted by a three-pointer from the right wing that put the Orange and Brown in front by four at 64-60 with only 46 seconds in the contest.

Strong defense and rebounding over the final minute, as well as two free throws from Clarke, sealed the MAC road win for BGSU who let a garbage basket to Kent State as time expired put the final score at 66-64.

The Falcons, who shot 15-of-30 (50 percent) in the second half, hit 24-of-56 (42.9 percent) from the floor overall for the game, while Kent State was 24-of-54 (44.4 percent) from the field overall.

Bowling Green was 8-of-15 (53.3 percent) from behind the three-point line and 10-of-11 (90.9 percent) from the charity stripe in the win.

BGSU outscored the Golden Flashes 26-24 in points in the paint, 16-9 in points off turnovers, 9-4 in second chance points, 10-6 in fast break points and 14-6 in bench points for the game.

"I think we just wanted it a little bit more than they did. They came out and punched us in the mouth really. We took a couple of shots, we took some body shots, and I think we recovered very well," commented Parker. "We stayed together and I think we really learned tonight as a team and we matured which will help us down the road."

Bowling Green (9-3, 1-0 MAC) will return home this Saturday afternoon, Jan. 10, to host the Ohio Bobcats at 4 p.m. in the Stroh Center.

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Notes
* The Falcons moved to 9-3 overall on the season with the win.
* BGSU moved to 4-2 on the road on the year.
* BGSU starts the MAC slate off at 1-0 for the first time since 2011-12.
* The win marks the first BGSU win on the road to open up MAC play since the 2010-11 season.
* The MAC win is the first Mid-American Conference win for first-year head coach Chris Jans.
* With the win, head coach Chris Jans becomes the fifth straight BGSU coach to win his first-ever MAC game on the sidelines for the Falcons (Jans, Orr, Dakich, Larranaga, Weinert).
* The win was the first win for BGSU at Kent State since a 76-70 win back on Jan. 17, 2010.
* The Falcons are now on a three-game winning streak, its second longeset winning streak of the season.