Turner’s Buzzer Beater Sends First-Place Falcons Past Akron

Tuesday, February 19

Bowling Green, OH

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

19-7

Akron

14-12

Akron

Bowling Green

February 19, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: by James Nahikian, BGSU Athletic Communications

Box Score
Post-Game Audio: Coach Huger With Todd Walker
Post-Game Video: Huger | Turner
Game Highlights: Akron at Bowling Green
Photo Gallery: BGSU Marketing / Communications

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Justin Turner's driving layup with 0.9 seconds left in regulation proved to be the difference, as the Bowling Green State University men's basketball team defeated the University of Akron by a score of 73-69 on Tuesday (Feb. 19) night at the Stroh Center. Turner scored all 23 of his points in the second half to lead BGSU to the come-from-behind win.

Bowling Green improved to 19-7 on the season with the triumph. Bowling Green is 11-2 in the Mid-American Conference, which is the program's best start through 13 league games in school history. BGSU remains in first place in the MAC with the win. The Falcons moved to 13-1 on the season at home – setting a Stroh Center record for men's basketball wins in a single season.

Akron's Loren Cristian Jackson tied the game with a three-pointer with 19 seconds left, setting up Turner's heroics. After a cross-over dribble at the top of the key, Turner drove to the hoop and finished over UA's Daniel Utomi.

After an Akron turnover, Michael Laster put the game beyond all doubts with two free throws with just 0.7 seconds left on the clock. Akron falls to 14-12 (6-7 MAC) following the loss.

QUOTE OF THE GAME
"Really good game on both parts. They played extremely hard, Akron did. We were able to play much harder and tougher in the second half [than we did in the first half]. It was just a fun game to be a part of." – Head Coach Michael Huger

TODD WALKER RADIO CALLS
• Plowden Block Leads To A #DeepFrye
• Sierra Rebound Leads To A Frye Layup
• Plowden SLAM!
• Fields Tough Layup
• Turner Triple
• Turner Three-Pointer
• Laster And-1
• Laster Drills The Trey
• Plowden DUNK!
• Turner FOR THE WIN!

FALCON FACTS
• Bowling Green is 19-7 on the season. With each win, the Falcons will continue to set a Michael Huger Era high. Prior to this season, BGSU's highest win total under Huger was 16 wins (2015-16 and 2017-18).
• Bowling Green is 11-2 in the Mid-American Conference, which is the program's best start through 13 league games in school history.
• The Falcons have won 11-plus MAC games for just the 11th time in program history.
• Bowling Green sits atop the MAC standings with an 11-2 league record. Buffalo is also 11-2, but the Falcons own the head-to-head tiebreaker as BGSU defeated the Bulls on Feb. 1. Every other team in the conference has at least five MAC losses, while eight teams in the MAC have at least six conference losses.
• With the victory, Bowling Green set a Stroh Center record for men's basketball wins in a single season. The Falcons are 13-1 at home in 2018-19. The Falcons went 12-4 in the arena's inaugural season in 2011-12.
• The win mark's Bowling Green's second win over Akron since 2010. The Zips had won 17-straight games over the Falcons from March of 2009 until January of 2017. Since then, BGSU is 2-2 versus the Zips, with both wins coming inside the Stroh Center under head coach Michael Huger. The Falcons beat the Zips, 66-65, on Feb. 21, 2017. On that night, Wes Alcegaire hit two free throws with 2.4 seconds left to give the Orange and Brown the victory. The pair of wins are BGSU's only wins over Akron at Stroh Center.
• The Falcons are 15-15 against Akron in games played in Bowling Green, Ohio.
• Bowling Green held the Zips to 37.1 percent shooting, marking the 12th time in 2018-19 that a Falcon opponent has shot below 40.0 percent. BGSU accomplished that feat four times last season.
• The Falcons won the battle on the glass by a 45-42 margin. The Falcons have recorded 45-plus rebounds in 12 games in 2018-19. Bowling Green ranks second in the country with a 42.0 rebounds per game average.
• For the 18th time this season, Bowling Green posted 10-plus offensive rebounds. The Falcons finished the contest with 10 offensive rebounds.

PLAYER NOTES
• Redshirt-sophomore guard Justin Turner became the 46th player in school history to score 1,000 points, and he did so in story-book fashion, as his game-winning layup with 0.9 seconds left pushed him over the 1,000-point plateau. Turner now ranks 45th in school history in scoring with 1,001 points. With his game-winning bucket, he surpassed Steve Martenet, who scored 1,000 points in the Orange and Brown from 1984-88.
• Turner is the first player in program history to score 1,000 points before his junior season.
• Turner needed just 61 games to score 1,000 points. The Detroit native's 16.4 scoring average for his career currently ranks 12th all-time in school history.
• Turner scored all 23 of his points in the second half. After missing his first shot of the second half, he closed the game by making nine of his last 10 shots.
• Turner, who also had seven rebounds and two assists, leads the Mid-American Conference this season in 20-point games with 15. The Detroit native has now scored 20-plus points a total of 25 times in the Orange and Brown. Turner has scored 10-plus points 50 times in his career.
• Junior guard Dylan Frye finished the contest with 16 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Frye is now just 18 points shy of 1,000 for his career.
• Frye drilled three triples in the game, bumping his season total up to 66. On the night, he surpassed Jay Larranaga (1996-97) and John Reimold (2003-04) for most three-point makes in a single season. Frye ranks ninth in the category, as he is 66-for-173 (38.2 percent) from deep in 2018-19.
• Frye has made multiple three-pointers in 48 games at BGSU, while having made at least three triples in 14 games in 2018-19. With 12 more three-pointers, he will surpass Shane Komives (1992-96) for fifth all-time at Bowling Green.
• Sophomore forward Daeqwon Plowden added 10 points, six rebounds, two blocks, and one steal. Plowden went 4-for-8 from the floor. Plowden has scored in double figures five times in 2018-19, running his career total up to 11.
• With his two blocks tonight, Plowden has posted multiple blocks in six games this season. He's registered at least one block in 13-of-26 games in 2018-19. He's notched at least one block in five-straight games.
• Junior guard Michael Laster scored all 10 of his points in the second half, finishing the game 3-for-7 from the floor, while also recording three rebounds, one assist and one steal.
• Laster's 10-point night marked the fourth time this season that he's scored in double figures.
• Freshman guard Caleb Fields turned in a game high plus-minus rating of plus-17 in 14 minutes of action. Fields went 2-for-4 from the floor and 1-for-2 from deep to finish with five points, two rebounds and one assist.
• Senior forward Demajeo Wiggins was plus-12 in 30 minutes. Wiggins had three points, three assists and a team-high 12 rebounds. Wiggins is just five rebounds shy of 1,000 for his career. He'd join legends Nate Thurmond (1961-63) and Cornelius Cash (1973-75) as the program's only players with 1,000-plus rebounds.
• Off the bench, senior guard Antwon Lillard added four points and four rebounds. Junior forward Marlon Sierra provided a spark as well, concluding the game with two points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal.
• Redshirt-senior forward Jeffrey Uju collected two rebounds, and drew his team-leading 12th charge of the season.

UP NEXT
• Bowling Green travels to Athens, Ohio for a 6:30 p.m. tip at Ohio on Friday, Feb. 22.
• The game will air live in front of a national audience on CBS Sports Network.

JUSTIN TURNER FOR THE WIN WITH 0.9 SECONDS LEFT!!!!!!!!

BOWLING GREEN BEATS AKRON!!! pic.twitter.com/wv2FtsdlAx
— BGSU Basketball 🏀 (@BGSUMHoops) February 20, 2019

If you're going to score your 1,000th point, it might as well be a game winner, right? 👏👏 @BGSUMHoops pic.twitter.com/bJiXUf9Uc4
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) February 20, 2019