CLEVELAND BOUND! BGSU Beats Kent State On Senior Night To Clinch First-Round Bye

Friday, March 1

Bowling Green, OH

6:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

20-9

Kent State

20-9

Kent St.

Bowling Green

CLEVELAND BOUND! BGSU Beats Kent State On Senior Night To Clinch First-Round Bye

March 01, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: by James Nahikian, BGSU Athletic Communications

Box Score
Game Highlights: Kent State at Bowling Green
Post-Game Video: Huger | Wiggins
Photo Gallery: BGSU Marketing / Communications

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team defeated Kent State University, 77-72, Friday (March 1) evening inside the Stroh Center on Senior Night. With the win, Bowling Green clinched a first-round bye and an automatic spot in the 2019 MAC Tournament Quarterfinals at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

Bowling Green improves to 20-9 on the season with the victory, marking the program's 14th season with 20-plus wins and first since 2014-15. The Falcons are 12-4 in the Mid-American Conference, having won 12-plus conference games for just the seventh time in school history.

A 20-win team in its own right, Kent State drops to 20-9 (9-7 MAC) on the campaign with the loss. BGSU, which beat Kent State in the MAC opener on Jan. 5, has swept the two-game series with the Golden Flashes for the first time since 1997.

The Falcons will be seeded no lower than third in the upcoming MAC Tournament. Bowling Green's quarterfinal game will take place on March 14.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
"I would like to say thank you to my seniors. Those guys have done a fabulous job for us. Demajeo Wiggins, Antwon Lillard, Jeffrey Uju and De Andre' Austin – those guys have been fabulous. They've been fabulous to coach. A lot of fun. I'm glad we can go out with a victory with those guys on Senior Night, and also clinch a first-round bye into Cleveland." – Head Coach Michael Huger

FALCON FACTS
• With the win, Bowling Green clinched a first-round bye and an automatic spot in the 2019 MAC Tournament Quarterfinals at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. The quarterfinal contest will be played on March 14. The Falcons will be seeded no lower than third.
• BGSU secured a tournament bye for the first time in a decade. The 2008-09 Falcons won the MAC's regular-season title, and played as the No. 1 seed in the 2009 MAC Tournament.
• Bowling Green improves to 20-9 on the season with the victory, marking the program's 14th season with 20-plus wins and first since 2014-15.
• The Falcons are 12-4 in the Mid-American Conference, having won 12-plus conference games for just the seventh time in school history.
• Bowling Green finishes the 2018-19 season with a 14-2 record at home. BGSU's 14 home wins is a Stroh Center record, and marks the most home wins for the program since going 16-0 at home in 1947-48.
• The Falcons' 14 home wins are the fourth most in a single season in program history. BGSU went 17-2 at home in 1945-46, before posting undefeated home records in 1946-47 (15-0) and 1947-48 (16-0).
• Bowling Green is one of two teams in the MAC still competing for a regular-season championship. In order to win the MAC's regular-season title, BGSU will have to win both of its games next week, and have Buffalo lose at Ohio on Tuesday, March 5.
• Bowling Green won its home games in 2018-19 by an average of 12.8 points. The Falcons shot 45.9 percent inside the Stroh Center this season, while holding their opponents to a 39.6 percent clip. On average, BGSU won the battle on the glass at home this season, 41.8-36.4.
• BGSU, which beat Kent State in the MAC opener on Jan. 5, has swept the two-game, regular-season series with the Golden Flashes for the first time since 1997.
• Bowling Green improves to 89-74 versus Kent State all-time. The Falcons are 5-4 against the Golden Flashes under head coach Michael Huger.
• BGSU shot 55.1 percent (27-of-49) from the field. After shooting at least 50.0 percent in four games last season, Bowling Green has shot at least 50.0 percent in nine games in 2018-19. The Falcons have shot at least 50.0 percent in five MAC games this season.
• Bowling Green took care of the specialty statistics on the night. The Falcons had more points off turnovers (13-8), while also scoring more paint points (38-32) and bench points (24-11).
• Bowling Green only trailed for 1:22 of the ballgame's 40 minutes.

PLAYER NOTES
• Senior guard De Andre' Austin earned the first start of his career. In his last game at the Stroh Center, Austin went 1-for-1 from the floor. He nailed a jumper to give the Falcons a 4-2 lead. Austin, who also had a steal, turned in an on-floor fating of plus-two on the night.
• The field goal for Austin marked his second of the season and fifth of his career.
• Redshirt-sophomore guard Justin Turner scored 18 points on just nine shots. Turner went 6-for-9 from the floor, 3-for-4 from downtown and 3-for-5 at the foul line. Turner also added three assists, two rebounds and one steal.
• Turner guarded All-Conference guard Jaylin Walker throughout the night. Walker needed 28 shots to score 26 points. Turner forced Walker to miss his last seven shots from the floor.
• Senior guard Antwon Lillard posted 14 points, two rebounds and two steals. With an and-one layup in the first half, Lillard became the 48th player in school history to score 1,000 points.
• Over the last 18 games, Lillard is averaging 10.4 points and 4.1 rebounds while shooting 49.2 percent (61-of-124) from the field. Over the last 17 games, Lillard is shooting 46.7 percent (29-of-62) from three-point range.
• Senior forward Demajeo Wiggins went 4-for-6 from the floor to finish with 13 points and eight rebounds. With his 13 points, Wiggins surpassed Scott Thomas (2008-12) for 22nd place on Bowling Green's all-time scoring list. Wiggins has scored 1,267 points as a Falcon.
• Sophomore forward Daeqwon Plowden contributed with nine points, three blocks, one rebound and one steal. Plowden has posted multiple blocks in eight games in 2018-19.
• Redshirt-senior forward Jeffrey Uju was a team-high +10 in 17 minutes on the court. Uju, who had a pair of dunks, including a highlight-reel follow up slam, finished with six points and three rebounds. Uju earned the 11th start of his career on the night.
• Junior forward Marlon Sierra posted six points and six rebounds in 15 minutes. Sierra's six rebounds are the third most he's had in a game this season. Sierra has now scored six points in consecutive games.
• Sophomore guard Dylan Frye added five points, two rebounds and one assist. Frye made one three-pointer on the night – his 73rd on the season. With his one triple, he surpassed Jay Larranaga (1995-96 season) and Shane Komives (1993-94 season) for sixth all-time at BGSU in three-pointers made in a single season.
• Junior guard Michael Laster contributed in a number of areas, finishing with four points, four assists, five rebounds and one steal. Laster, who has notched multiple assists in 20 games in 2018-19, has registered four-plus assists 10 times.
• Freshman guard Caleb Fields had two assists and zero turnovers. Fields has recorded multiple assists in three-straight contests.

UP NEXT
• Bowling Green wraps up the regular season next week with a pair of road games at Akron (March 5) and Buffalo (March 8).
• The Akron game will tip at 7 p.m. on ESPN+, while the Buffalo contest will air on ESPNU at 6 p.m.

SECURE YOUR MAC TOURNAMENT TICKETS TODAY
• For more information and to order tickets for the 2019 MAC Tournament, fans are being encouraged to call the ticket office at 877-BGSU TICKET. Fans can also visit the ticket office inside the Stroh Center during normal business hours.