Turner Drops 30 As Falcons Beat Central Michigan In Wild OT Thriller

Men's Basketball Season Tickets
Box Score
Game Highlights: Bowling Green at Central Michigan
Post-Game Audio: Coach Huger With Todd Walker

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team, behind 30 points from redshirt-sophomore guard Justin Turner, defeated Central Michigan University on Saturday (Jan. 12) in overtime by a score of 97-87.

The Falcons trailed by six points in the final 1:11 of regulation, but two Turner free throws with 7.6 seconds left forced OT. Turner then scored 12 points in the overtime session to cap a team effort that saw five Falcons score in double figures.

With the win, Bowling Green moves to 11-5 overall, and 3-0 in Mid-American Conference play. The Falcons have won seven-straight games by double figures for the first time since 1947-48.

BIG PLAYS DOWN THE STRETCH
• With just 1:22 to play, the Falcons missed a shot and Central Michigan came up with the rebound. The Chippewas led by a score of 78-72.
• Dylan Frye then recorded a steal, and went in for an uncontested layup, pulling the Falcons within four at 78-74 with 1:10 to play.
• After a pair of missed CMU free throws, Justin Turner cut the CMU lead to just two points with a driving layup with 46 seconds left on the clock.
• Central Michigan nearly avoided a shot clock violation on its next possession, as the Chippewas were forced to chuck up a desperation triple after a scramble for the ball. Michael Laster came up with the rebound with 14 seconds left, and dished the ball to Turner charging up the left side of the court.
• Turner drew a shooting foul, and hit both free throws with 7.6 seconds left to tie the game. Turner then stole the ball, not allowing CMU to attempt a game-winning shot. Turner's half-court heave fell short, and the game headed into overtime.

TURNER TAKES OVER IN OVERTIME
• The overtime period started with an Antwon Lillard layup followed by a Laster jumper, giving the visitors an 82-78 lead.
• CMU's Kevin McKay tied the game at 84-84 with a corner three-pointer with 3:01 left in OT, but Turner followed with an and-one layup just 13 seconds later. He hit the free throw to put the Falcons back on top, 87-84. The and-one started a stretch in which Turner scored 12-straight points for the Orange and Brown.
• The Chippewas would tie the game, but a step-back Turner trey with 1:53 to go allowed the Falcons to reclaim the lead at 90-87.
• A Turner floater put the Falcons up five, and then the redshirt-sophomore hit four free throws, putting BGSU up by a score of 96-87 with just 36 seconds to go in OT. Laster split a pair of free throws to conclude the game's scoring.

QUOTE OF THE GAME
"We just stayed the course. We continued to defend the way we're capable of. We were able to get some big stops at the end, and Justin Turner was huge." – Head Coach Michael Huger

TODD WALKER RADIO CALLS
• Kulackovskis For Three
• Kulackovskis For Three…Again
• Laster Layup Off Glass
• Lillard Transition Three-Pointer
• Huge And-One For Wiggins
• Turner Tough Layup
• Lillard Opens OT Scoring
• Clutch And-One From Turner
• Step-Back Turner Trey
• Turner Floater
• Falcons Win!!!

FALCON FACTS
• For the first time in school history, Bowling Green has started Mid-American Conference play with three-straight wins by double figures.
• The Falcons are 3-0 in MAC play for the first time since 2004-05.
• Bowling Green has won seven-straight games by 10-plus points for the first time since 1947-48.
• Bowling Green has won seven-straight games for the first time since 2001-02. The seven-game winning streak sets a Michael Huger Era high.
• Bowling Green is on its first three-game MAC winning streak since 2016-17, having won three-consecutive MAC games by double digits for the first time since 2001-02.
• The Orange and Brown are 2-0 in MAC road games, marking the first time that has happened since head coach Michael Huger's debut season in 2015-16. BGSU has already matched the amount of MAC road wins it had all of last season.
• Bowling Green's victory snapped Central Michigan's seven-game winning streak, and 10-game home unbeaten streak.
• The Falcons' win marks the program's first at McGuirk Arena in the Michael Huger Era. Bowling Green's last win at McGuirk Arena, prior to tonight, came on Feb. 4, 2015. That victory also came in overtime, 76-74.
• BGSU extended its lead in its all-time series with Central Michigan, 41-38.
• For the 11th-straight game, Bowling Green won the battle on the glass, posting 46 rebounds compared to Central Michigan's 44.
• The Falcons went 10-for-22 (45.5 percent) from downtown. Over its seven-game winning streak, Bowling Green is shooting 42.6 percent (70-of-164) from three-point range. BGSU has eclipsed 40.0 percent in six of those games, while making 10-plus triples in four.
• The Falcons registered 11 assists. BGSU has posted double-digit assists in seven-consecutive games.
• Bowling Green recorded 10 steals, marking the second game in-a-row that the Orange and Brown have racked up 10 steals. BGSU last had double-digit steals in back-to-back games in 2016-17. The Falcons had 11 steals versus Miami on Jan. 31, 2017, followed by a 10-steal effort in a win over Toledo on Feb. 4, 2017.
• Bowling Green's bench was key yet again, scoring over 40 points for the second-straight game. BGSU's bench scored 41 points compared to just 18 bench points for the Chippewas. In Bowling Green's win over Ohio on Tuesday (Jan. 8), the Falcons' bench outscored Ohio's by a 43-11 margin.
• BGSU scored more points in the paint (38-32) and more points off turnovers (22-10) than the Chippewas.

PLAYER NOTES
• For the third time in his career and first time this season, redshirt-sophomore guard Justin Turner scored 30-plus points. Turner finished with 30 points on 10-of-22 shooting, while also posting two rebounds, two steals and a team-high six assists.
• Turner has now scored 20-plus points in 10 games this season, matching his total from his historic redshirt-freshman campaign in 2017-18. Dating back to last season, he's scored 20-plus points in four-consecutive MAC regular-season games.
• Turner eclipsed 800 points on the night, as he's now scored 821 points in just 51 games. His assist numbers also continue to rise. Over BGSU's seven-game winning streak, the Detroit native is averaging 5.1 assists. Turner is up to 145 career assists.
• Junior guard Michael Laster had a career day, as he set career highs in points (18), field goals made (8), and minutes played (33). Laster posted six rebounds and three steals, as well.
• Senior guard Antwon Lillard scored in double figures for the fifth-straight game, while shooting at least 50.0 percent from the field for the seventh-consecutive game. Lillard registered 11 points (5-of-9 FG), six rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal.
• Over the last five games, Lillard is averaging 12.8 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 61.5 percent from the field. Furthermore, the senior is just 113 points shy of 1,000 for his career.
• Junior guard Dylan Frye went 4-for-8 from the floor, and finished the ballgame with 11 points, two steals, one block, one assist and zero turnovers. Across the last six games, Frye has recorded 21 points compared to just seven turnovers.
• Redshirt-freshman forward Matiss Kulackovskis scored a career-high 10 points in 12 minutes. Kulackovskis tied career highs by making four field goals and two three-pointers. Kulackovskis went a perfect 2-for-2 from downtown, and 4-for-7 from the field overall.
• Senior forward Demajeo Wiggins added eight points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Wiggins moved to third all-time in rebounds at BGSU, surpassing Len Matela, who racked up 890 rebounds as a Falcon from 1998-2002. Wiggins now has 899 rebounds for his career, and sits behind a couple of BGSU legends in Nate Thurmond (1,295 rebounds | 1961-63) and Cornelius Cash (1,068 | 1973-75).
• Sophomore forward Daeqwon Plowden finished the contest with four points and three rebounds.
• Freshman guard Caleb Fields went 1-for-2 from deep to finish with three points, two steals and one rebound in 15 minutes. In 12 minutes of action, junior forward Marlon Sierra posted two points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal.
• Redshirt-senior forward Jeffrey Uju contributed with two rebounds and one assist. He also drew his team-leading 10th charge of the season.

UP NEXT
• Bowling Green returns to the Stroh Center to take on Ball State at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 15. The first 500 fans through the gates will receive a free Michael Huger Bobblehead.
• The Falcons will close the week with a 6 p.m. home game versus Western Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 19.
• Additionally, in case fans missed it, Bowling Green's home game versus Buffalo has been picked up by CBS Sports Network. The contest, originally scheduled for Feb. 2, will now be played on Feb. 1 at 8 p.m. at Stroh Center.

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