Five Falcons Score in Double Figures in Crazy Come From Behind Win at Ohio

Final Stats: Box Score (PDF)
Final Stats: Box Score (HTML)
Audio: Postgame Press Conference: Huger & Parker
Audio: Postgame Interview with Todd Walker: Huger
Video: BGSU Highlights
Radio Calls by Todd Walker:
            1st half - Wiggins and-1 underneath
                           Wiggins layup from Ali assist
                           Denny steal and jumper
                           Denny steal leads to Lillardy layup
           2nd half - Worrell three from the top of the key
                           Ali layup down the lane
                           Parker three from the right wing
                           Worrell rebound and slam
                           Ali three-pointer and the foul
                           Denny layup and-1
                           Closing Call as BG beats OU
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Athens, Ohio – In their first Mid-American Conference (MAC) road game of the season, the Bowling Green State University Falcons had five players score in double figures in what was a crazy 91-75 come from behind win over the Ohio Bobcats at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio.

The crazy contest saw the Falcons go almost 10 minutes without a field goal in the first half and then record a 10-point possession in only 37 seconds of game time late in the second half, in which BGSU had a four-point play, hit three out of four free throws on two technical fouls, and got an old-fashion three-point play after taking the ball out of bounds off the technical fouls.

The Falcons trailed by as much as 14 points on multiple occasions in the first half on Tuesday night, but fought back to erase the deficit and pull out to a lead as high as 20 points in the second half on their way to the 91-75 MAC East win.

The loss was the first home loss of the season for the Bobcats (8-1).

BGSU outscored Ohio 58-37 in the second half of play, as the Falcons shot 55.6 percent (20-of-36) from the field overall over the final 20 minutes of play, including going a perfect 5-of-5 from behind the three-point line, and knocked down 13-of-17 (76.5 percent) attempts from the free throw line in the second half.

Ohio shot 50 percent (15-of-30) in the second half, however, BGSU took six more shot attempts and got to the free throw line 17 times over the final period compared to the Bobcats' six times.

A total of five technical fouls were handed out on the night, four to Ohio and one to BGSU, while three Bobcats fouled out of the contest late in the game. Four of the technical fouls, three to Ohio and one to BGSU, came on a scrum with 3:54 left to go in the game which proved to take close to 15 minutes for the officials to go over the incident on the replay monitor.

Senior Spencer Parker, who tallied 15 points in the second half alone, led the way with a game-high 22 points for his fourth 20-plus scoring game of the season. Junior guard Ismail Ali scored a career-high 19 points off the bench for the Falcons, which included two clutch three-pointers in the second half and nine free throws.

Rasheed Worrell finished with 13 points for the second straight game and also had five rebounds on the night after going to the bench early in the contest with two fouls, while both Antwon Lillard and Zack Denny chipped in with 12 points in the win. Denny also pulled down 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season.

Ohio had four players in double figures led by Kenny Kaminski's 15 points. Fellow starters Antonio Campbell and Jaaron Simmons each tallied 13 points, while Jordan Dartis finished with 11 points on the night.

While the weather was cold outside, the Bobcats were on fire to start the contest inside the Convocation Center, as Ohio jumped out to an 8-0 lead early and connected on all six of their first six shot attempts, including four three-pointers, to storm out to a 13-4 lead on a three-pointer from Kenny Kaminski just over two minutes into the game.

BGSU was able to weather the early Ohio onslaught with two treys of its own from Parker to stay within eight of the Bobcats at 18-10 with 16:16 to go in the opening half of play.

After Ohio picked up three straight points from Treg Setty to push the lead back out to double digits at 21-10 at the 14:11 mark, the Falcons sandwiched a free throw by Khari Harley with two layups from Demajeo Wiggins to put the score at 22-14 in favor of Ohio with 13:09 to go in the first half.

The Wiggins' offensive rebound and put back basket at the 13:09 mark would be the last field goal for the Falcons for close to a 10 minute stretch, yet the BGSU defense and the free throw line kept the visitors in black jerseys in the contest.

A JD Tisdale free throw at the 12:38 mark put the Falcons within seven at 22-15, however, with BGSU going ice cold from the field offensively, Ohio went on a 7-0 run to extend its lead out to 14 points at 29-15 on a three-pointer from Wadly Mompremier with 10:07 to go before the halftime break.

Two straight free throws apiece from Lillard and Parker over a 33 second stretch put the Falcons within 10 at 29-19, yet the Orange and Brown's offensive woes continued as the Bobcats again pushed the lead back out to 14 points at 37-23 at the 4:20 mark on a free throw from Mike Laster.

Just over a minute later, a drive down the lane and left-handed basket by Lillard at the 3:13 mark ended the Falcons' field goal drought at 9:56, but also kicked off a run of 10 straight points by the visitors who closed the gap to 37-33 with 28 seconds left in the opening half.

Ohio's Simmons hit a free throw in the closing seconds to give the home team a 38-33 lead at the halftime break.

The Falcons came out of the locker room after the break with a whole new level of urgency, as Parker scored on the first two offensive possessions to counter baskets from Ohio's Campbell and Dartis to keep BGSU down just five at 42-37 with 18:42 to go in the game.

Following an offensive stick back basket by Ohio's Campbell, the Falcons got a three-ball from Wes Alcegaire, back-to-back layups again from Parker, a layup in the lane from Denny and a tip-in from Worrell over the next three minutes of play to give the Falcons a four-point lead at 48-44 on the 11-0 run.

A Kaminski three-pointer put the Bobcats within two at 48-46, however, the visitors refused to relinquish the lead as Worrell ran off five straight points, which included a trey from the top of the key, to plunge the Falcons out in front by seven at 53-46 with 14:03 to play.

The Falcons had an answer for every Ohio basket for the next several minutes, pushing their lead out to as much as nine three times with the third being at 69-60 on a two-handed dunk rebound from Worrell at the 7:08 mark of the second half.

With the intensity and physical play amping up as time ticked away, the Bobcats got back-to-back jumpers from Setty and Simmons in a minute span to cut the BGSU lead to five at 71-66 with 4:35 left in regulation.

Less than a minute later is when things went haywire, as Ali hit a three-pointer from the right wing and was fouled on the play as both players fell to the ground in front of the BGSU bench. Some pushing and shoving from both teams ensued which led to the 15 minute officials' replay, four combined technical fouls and 10 straight points by the Falcons to give the visitors a huge 82-66 lead.

Campbell would knock down another three-pointer for the Bobcats, before the wheels fell off for the home team as the bench would receive another technical foul and watch as three players, all of which received techs in the fray, fouled out over the final 2:49 of the contest.

The Falcons took advantage of the Bobcats' unraveling to drain seven free throws and get a layup from Parker over the final two minutes of play to complete the 91-75 comeback road win at the Convocation Center.

BGSU shot 47 percent (31-of-66) as a team overall for the game, but shot 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from the three-point line and 73.3 percent (22-of-30) from the charity stripe.

The Falcons outscored Ohio 40-24 in points in the paint, 18-8 in points off turnovers and 18-12 in second change points for the 40 minute contest. BGSU also had eight fast break points compared to Ohio's two and doubled up the Bobcats in bench points at 36-18.

Bowling Green (11-5, 2-1 MAC) will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 16, as the Falcons will hit the road to face off with the Eastern Michigan Eagles in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. ET at the Convocation Center.

###

Notes

BGSU improved to 11-5 overall and 2-1 in MAC play with the win.
The win was the Falcons' first MAC road win of the season (1-0).
With the win, the Falcons have won three straight games over the Bobcats and four out of the last five versus Ohio.
BGSU has now won three straight games over Ohio at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio.
The Falcons handed the Bobcats their first loss at home this season (8-1).
BGSU improved to 4-2 overall in true road contests on the season with the win.
With their 47 percent field goal percentage in the win, BGSU has now shot 44 percent or better in all 11 of its wins this season.
The Falcons are now a perfect 10-0 on the season when grabbing the same number or more rebounds than their opponents for the game.
With BGSU's 22 made free throws and Ohio's 21 attempted free throws, the Falcons have now made more free throws than their opponents have attempted in six games this season.
Ismail Ali recorded a career-high 19 points in the win.
Spencer Parker's 22 points gives him four games this season with 20_plus points or more.
Zack Denny recorded his fifth double-double of the year with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

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