Cincinnati Shoots Past Bowling Green Sunday Night

Sunday, December 4

Cincinnati OH

8:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

3-5

(RV) Cincinnati

7-1

Bowling Green

Cincinnati

Photo by: Larry Clapper

December 04, 2016 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: by James Nahikian, BGSU Athletic Communications

Game Highlights: BGSU at Cincinnati
Post-Game Audio: Coach Huger With Todd Walker
Final Statistics: NCAA Box/Play-By-Play | HTML

CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team was defeated by the University of Cincinnati, 85-56, Sunday evening at Fifth Third Arena. The game was aired live on ESPNU. The Falcons' three-game winning streak was snapped in defeat.

With the loss, Bowling Green falls to 3-5 on the season. Cincinnati defeated No. 19 Iowa State on the road earlier in the week, and with the victory, the Bearcats improve to 7-1 in 2016-17.

"Their defense is very good. They have a real good defense – it's a tough, matchup zone," said head coach Michael Huger. "You don't get a lot of looks, and they change it up. Once you have success with one thing, they change and go to something else, and take that away.

"I thought Wes did a great job of holding his own. Zack Denny was really good for us. Those were our two leading scorers, and they were ready for the challenge. Ish, I thought, did a great job. The guys are coming along. A lot of these guys are still new. We are still a young team. We have freshmen and sophomores who are still learning how to win at this level, and how to play at that pace."

The Falcons hung around in the first half, and trailed by just seven points with 5:49 to go. BGSU was close to getting into the half down just 11, but Cincinnati hit two triples in the final 42 seconds, including a buzzer beater, to take a 41-24 lead at the break.

The Falcons could not draw closer in the second half, as Cincinnati shot 55.7 percent (34-of-61) for the game, and outscored BGSU by a 44-32 margin in the second half to pull away with the win. Bowling Green was held to 36.8 percent (21-of-57) shooting. Both teams made six threes, while UC hit three more free throws.

Seniors Zack Denny and Wes Alcegaire led the Falcons in scoring with 16 points apiece. Alcegaire added five rebounds, and went 6-for-11 from the field. Denny chipped in with four rebounds, hit 2-of-5 triples, and connected on 6-of-12 shots from the floor.

Ismail Ali scored seven points and dished out six assists. Rasheed Worrell and Demajeo Wiggins had four points apiece, while Rodrick Caldwell, Matt Fox and Dylan Frye hit one three-pointer for the Falcons.

The Orange and Brown will stay on the road to face Evansville on Tuesday (Dec. 6) night. The game is scheduled for an 8 p.m. tip. The Falcons will then return home for a game against Detroit on Dec. 10, before flying out to play San Jose State on Dec. 18.