Zips Survive Late To Hand BGSU 89-84 Defeat In MAC Opener

Tuesday, January 3

Akron, OH

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

6-8 (0-1)

Akron

11-3 (1-0)

Bowling Green

AKRON

Photo by: Bianca Garza, BGSU Marketing and Communications

January 03, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: by James Nahikian, BGSU Athletic Communications

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

AKRON, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team went toe-to-toe with the University of Akron, last year's MAC regular-season champions and this season's predicted tournament champion, but the Zips hit free throws down the stretch to survive and beat Bowling Green by a score of 89-84. The game, which served as the MAC opener for both teams, was played at UA's James A. Rhodes Arena.

Bowling Green falls to 6-8 (0-1 MAC) with the loss, while Akron improves to 11-3 (1-0 MAC) with the victory.

While playing against First Team All-MAC center Isaiah Johnson, sophomore Demajeo Wiggins had the best game of his career. The sophomore forward had a career-high 21 points on 10-of-17 shooting. Wiggins also added eight rebounds and one steal. Coming into tonight's game, Wiggins had recorded a double-double in consecutive games.

"I like the way we stuck together down the stretch, especially because the guys didn't fall apart when Akron made their runs," said head coach Michael Huger. "We were able to hold on, do a great job on the defensive end, and get back into the game. That's what it's all about. We spoke about them making a run when the game started, and we talked about it at halftime. Akron did a great job – they are a good team.

"You almost have to play the perfect game in order to beat them. We were close, but we still lost the game when it's all said and done. We did a great job of keeping them off balance. That's still something that we work on every day with our rotations.

"We had a couple of bad rotations, and that hurt us, as well. It was the little things that cost us, and they were able to capitalize on those things. But it was a bunch of little things that added up when the game was all said and done."

All five of Bowling Green's starters scored in double figures for the first time since Dec. 15, 2013. BG shot a season-high 54.1 percent (33-of-61). Akron, however, shot just as well. The Zips shot 56.6 percent (30-of-53).

Akron won the game from behind the arc, and at the free throw line. The Zips shot a ridiculous 45.5 percent (10-of-22) from three-point range. Bowling Green shot a very solid 82.4 percent (14-of-17) from the line, but Akron made five more shots from the line, as they went 19-for-26 (73.1 percent).

Bowling Green started the game on an 8-0 run, but Akron countered with a 10-0 run, and eventually took a 37-35 lead into the half. Akron then built up an 11-point lead at 59-48 with 12:34 left in regulation, but Bowling Green fought right back into the game.

The Falcons went on an 11-1 run to pull within a single point at 60-59 with 8:50 on the clock. Akron again built up a double-digit lead, as they pulled ahead by a score of 77-67 with 4:12 left in regulation. The Falcons got within four with under two minutes to go, and had an open three-point attempt to cut it to one, but the ball didn't drop, and Akron scored four of the next six points to take an 85-79 lead with 28 seconds left.

BG nailed a triple with 11 seconds left to incredibly get within a possession again, but the Zips hit two free throws to salt the game away.

Along with Wiggins' big night, seniors Zack Denny and Ismail Ali each had 16 points. Sophomore Antwon Lillard also had 16 points, while senior Wes Alcegaire finished with 10 points. Denny shot 6-of-10 from the floor, and hit one triple, which tied him for 10th all-time in program history in made three-point field goals.

Lillard was 5-for-7 from the field, 1-for-1 from three-point land, and 5-for-5 from the free throw line. Ali had a huge night. The senior guard, along with his 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, had five assists, five steals and four rebounds. The five steals marked a career high. Alcegaire scored in double figures for the seventh time in eight games. He also had three assists and two steals.

Bowling Green will finish off the week with a trip to Muncie, Indiana to take on Ball State on Jan. 7. The game is slated for a 1 p.m. tip. The Falcons will then return home to play Eastern Michigan on Jan. 10.