EIGHT STRAIGHT! Falcons Edge Ball State Inside Stroh To Move #MACtion Mark To 4-0

Box Score
Game Highlights: Ball State at Bowling Green
Post-Game Video: Huger | Plowden
Post-Game Audio: Coach Huger With Todd Walker
Photo Gallery: BGSU Marketing / Communications
Photo Gallery: Larry Clapper

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team earned a 79-78 win over Ball State University on Tuesday (Jan. 15) night inside the Stroh Center. The win, which pushed BGSU's winning streak to eight games, moves the Falcons to 4-0 in Mid-American Conference play for the first time in 14 years.

Bowling Green improved to 12-5 on the season with the victory, while Ball State dropped to 10-7 (1-3 MAC) with the loss. Ball State entered tonight's game ranked No. 88 in the NCAA's NET rankings. The Falcons are now 9-0 at home for the first time since 1999-2000.

After taking a 76-68 lead with only 1:16 to play, Ball State cut the BGSU lead to a single possession just 43 seconds later. BSU's Zach Gunn drilled a three-pointer with 33 seconds left to trim the BGSU lead to three points at 76-73.

After a BG turnover, Gunn attempted a deep and contested three-pointer, but Demajeo Wiggins came up with the rebound after the miss. Wiggins then hit two clutch free throws, inching the Falcons' lead back up to 78-73 with 12 seconds remaining.

Ball State's Tayler Persons, who finished with 28 points, countered with a tough jumper with six seconds to go, but Dylan Frye would split a pair of free throws with five seconds left on the clock, giving the Falcons a two-possession advantage.

Not wanting to give the Cardinals a chance at a four-point play, the Falcons did not contest Persons' triple at the buzzer. The fifth-year senior would make the shot, but time had run out for Ball State.

QUOTE OF THE GAME
"Extremely, extremely good game. It was on both ends. Both teams played extremely hard, and they [Ball State] are very good. They were picked first or second on that side for a reason. We were able to hold on at the end, and we were able to finish the game." – Head Coach Michael Huger

TODD WALKER RADIO CALLS
• Smooth Turner Jumper
• Lillard Three-Ball
• Turner Trey
• Turner And-One
• Mattos Tip-In
• Plowden Takes The Charge
• Plowden For Three
• Frye Steal Leads To Lillard And-One
• Big Plowden Triple
• Clutch Three-Ball From Turner
• Plowden Tip-In
• FALCONS WIN!!!

FALCON FACTS
• Bowling Green is on an eight-game winning streak for the first time since 2001-02. The Falcons won 12-straight games during the 2001-02 campaign.
• The Falcons have started Mid-American Conference play with a 4-0 record for the first time since 2004-05. Dan Dakich's team went 10-8 in the MAC that season.
• For the first time since 2014-15, the Falcons have won four-straight conference games.
• Bowling Green is 9-0 inside the Stroh Center, marking its best home start since 1999-2000. The 1999-2000 edition of the Falcons went 12-0 at Anderson Arena.
• BGSU improved its all-time series lead over Ball State to 49-36 with the victory. The Falcons are 20 games over .500 (31-11) versus Ball State in games played in Bowling Green, Ohio.
• The Orange and Brown's win moves the program to 3-2 versus Ball State under head coach Michael Huger.
• Bowling Green has dominated the Cardinals as of late, as the Falcons have accumulated a record of 15-4 against Ball State dating back to February of 2005.
• Due to the fact that the contest is the only scheduled meeting between the two teams, the Falcons have earned the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Cardinals.
• For the 12th-straight game, Bowling Green won the battle on the glass, posting 42 rebounds compared to Ball State's 35.
• The Falcons racked up 15 offensive rebounds, marking the 13th time this season that the Orange and Brown have secured 10-plus offensive rebounds in a single game.
• The Falcons went 8-for-20 (40.0 percent) from downtown. Over its eight-game winning streak, Bowling Green is shooting 42.4 percent (78-of-184) from three-point range. BGSU has shot at least 40.0 percent from deep in seven of those ballgames.
• Bowling Green's bench continues to be a huge asset. BGSU scored 23 bench points compared to Ball State's 13. Over the last three games, BGSU's bench is outscoring the opposition's bench by a 107-42 margin.
• The Falcons had a season-best day at the free throw line, going 29-for-33 (87.9 percent) at the charity stripe. BGSU last made at least 29 free throws in a game on Jan. 13, 2018 at Akron. On that day, BGSU went 29-for-43 (67.4 percent) at the line.
• Taking advantage of the rebounding discrepancy, the Falcons scored 19 second-chance points. Ball State only scored four second-chance points.
• In a game that featured eight ties and six lead changes, Bowling Green held the lead for 32:18 of the game's 40 minutes. BSU's largest lead in the contest was just two points.

PLAYER NOTES
• Sophomore forward Daeqwon Plowden turned in his best game as a Falcon. Plowden set career highs in points (19), three-point makes (3-of-5), free throws made (8), free throws attempted (10), and minutes played (27). Plowden also added a MAC career high of eight rebounds, while tying a career high with two steals.
• Redshirt-sophomore guard Justin Turner contributed with 20 points, three assists, and two steals. Turner has now scored 20-plus points in five-consecutive MAC regular-season games dating back to 2017-18.
• Turner leads the league in 2018-19 with 11 games with 20-plus points. Turner had 10 games with 20-plus points last season as a redshirt-freshman. He's already surpassed that mark with 14 more regular-season games to play this season.
• For the sixth-straight game, senior guard Antwon Lillard scored at least 11 points, as he finished the contest with 15 points, four rebounds and two steals. Lillard scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half, and has now scored 10-plus points in the second half in 3-of-4 MAC games in 2018-19.
• Lillard is just 98 points shy of becoming the 46th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points. He needs to average 7.0 points over the final 14 regular-season games to reach the 1,000-point milestone.
• Junior guard Dylan Frye registered 10 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Frye, who has scored 10-plus points 43 times in his career, has scored in double figures in all four league games this season.
• Senior forward Demajeo Wiggins surpassed 900 career rebounds on the night. The Toledo native has collected 914 career rebounds following his 15-rebound effort. Wiggins, who also had one assist and one steal, went 7-for-8 from the free throw line to finish with seven points.
• Junior guard Michael Laster added four points and six rebounds, and did not commit a single turnover in 14 minutes of action.
• Freshman center Tayler Mattos scored his first-career MAC bucket, as he tipped in a missed shot to give the Falcons a 43-42 lead going into the intermission. Mattos went 1-for-1 from the floor with two points and one rebound.
• Junior forward Marlon Sierra, redshirt-senior forward Jeffrey Uju and freshman guard Caleb Fields each saw some run, as well. Sierra had two points on 1-of-1 shooting.

UP NEXT
• Bowling Green wraps a quick two-game home stand by welcoming Western Michigan to the Stroh Center on Saturday, Jan. 19. Tip is slated for 6 p.m.
• Next week, BGSU hits the road for a pair of conference games at Eastern Michigan (Jan. 22) and Miami (Jan. 26).

BGSU BASKETBALL ON NATIONAL TV!
• Bowling Green's home game versus Buffalo, originally scheduled for Feb. 2, has been moved to an 8 p.m. start on Feb. 1. The game was flexed due to being picked up by national television. • The game will be aired live on CBS Sports Network.

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