SEVEN STRAIGHT!! Late-Game Heroics Lift Falcons Past Ball State Tuesday At Stroh

Box Score
Post-Game Audio: Coach Huger With Todd Walker
Post-Game Video: Huger | Diggs
Game Highlights: BGSU vs. Ball State
Photo Gallery: BGSU Marketing / Communications (Brad Phalin)

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team climbed out of a late deficit on Tuesday (Jan. 28) evening to earn a 67-61 win over Ball State University. The Falcons have now won seven-straight Mid-American Conference games for the first time in 40 years. The contest was played inside of the Stroh Center.

After falling behind by five points late, the Falcons closed the game on an 18-7 run over the final 4:20 to secure the come-from-behind victory. With the win, Bowling Green moves to 16-5 (7-1 MAC). Ball State drops to 11-9 (4-3 MAC) with the loss.

BGSU sits alone atop the MAC standings, as Buffalo defeated Akron tonight. BGSU is 7-1 and is the only team in the league with just one loss. Akron is 6-2, while Central Michigan is 4-2. Every other team in the conference has at least three losses.

Junior forward Trey Diggs scored a career-high 25 points to lead the Falcons. Redshirt-junior guard Justin Turner scored all 20 of his points in the second half. Junior forward Daeqwon Plowden finished with seven points and a career-high 15 rebounds.

THE KEY PLAYS IN THE FINAL FIVE MINUTES
• After Ball State took a 54-49 lead with under five minutes to play, Trey Diggs made one of his five three-pointers with 4:20 to go in the game. Ball State led, 54-52.
• The Cardinals made a bucket with 4:00 on the clock, but Frye answered with a layup just 20 seconds later. Ball State led by a score of 56-54.
• With 3:08 remaining in the game, Turner gave the Falcons a 57-56 lead with a deep three-pointer. Turner then hit a contested jumper at the 2:28 mark to extend the lead to three points.
• Daeqwon Plowden stole the ball on BSU's ensuing possession. Frye found Turner in transition, and Turner nailed the triple at the top of the key. The trey ball gave the Falcons a 62-56 lead with just 2:02 left in regulation.
• With 1:23 to play, Turner hit another shot. This time it was a floater in the paint to push the BGSU lead to 64-56. Ball State trailed by multiple possessions for the rest of the ballgame.

TODD WALKER RADIO CALLS
• Swingle Bucket (13-11, BSU)
• #DowntownDiggs (14-13, BG)
• Kulackovskis Triple (17-13, BG)
• Alley-Oop Frye To Plowden!! (25-17, BG)
• #DowntownDiggs (34-23, BG)
• #DowntownDiggs (43-41, BSU)
• #DowntownDiggs (45-44, BSU)
• Turner And-1 (51-48, BG)
• #DowntownDiggs (54-52, BSU)
• Turner Triple (57-56, BG)
• Turner Clutch Step-Back J (59-56, BG)
• BANG! Turner Three-Pointer! (62-56, BG)

TEAM NOTES
• Bowling Green has won seven-straight Mid-American Conference games for the first time since the 1979-80 season. BGSU went on to win eight-straight MAC games in 1979-80, finishing the season with an 11-5 league record.
• Since 2018, the Stroh Center has been the toughest venue in the MAC for opposing teams. Over that time frame, Bowling Green has posted a record of 24-3, which equates to a league-best .889 winning percentage.
• For the first time ever, Bowling Green has picked up at least six MAC wins in its first seven games in back-to-back seasons. The 2018-19 Falcons also began the conference campaign with a 7-1 mark.
• For just the fifth time ever, BGSU has won at least seven of its first eight MAC games (2019-20; 2018-19; 1982-83; 1979-80; 1961-62).
• Bowling Green has won 16 of its first 21 games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1946. The Falcons have started a season 16-5 (or better) a total of 14 times.
• Bowling Green has won 16 of its first 21 games for the first time since 2001-02.
• BGSU sits alone atop the MAC standings, as Buffalo defeated Akron tonight. BGSU is 7-1 and is the only team in the league with just one loss. Akron is 6-2, while Central Michigan is 4-2. Every other team in the conference has at least three losses.
• Bowling Green is 10-1 at home in 2019-20, and 50-24 at home in the Michael Huger Era.
• Over its last 26 conference games, the Falcons have racked up a record of 19-7.
• The Falcons are 14-1 versus the MAC West since 2019. Bowling Green has won nine-straight games against MAC West competition.
• With the win, Bowling Green moved to 24-17 in the month of January under head coach Michael Huger.
• Bowling Green won the battle on the glass by a 47-42 margin. The Falcons have posted 40-plus rebounds in 13-of-21 games in 2019-20. BGSU's 47 rebounds is tied for its second-best output of the season. The Falcons had 61 rebounds versus Tiffin on Nov. 5, 2019. On Nov. 24, 2019, BGSU collected 47 rebounds against Cincinnati.
• For the ninth time in 2019-20, the Falcons held their opponent below 40.0 percent shooting. The Cardinals shot 34.8 percent (23-of-66) on the night. The 34.8 percent clip is the fourth-lowest shooting percentage for a BGSU opponent in 2019-20.
• BGSU held Ball State to a 5-for-27 (18.5 percent) clip from downtown – the second-worst three-point shooting night for a Falcon opponent in 2019-20. Eastern Michigan went 2-for-16 (12.5 percent) from deep against Bowling Green. Over BGSU's seven-game win streak, its opponents are shooting 30.2 percent (49-of-162) from three-point range.
• The Falcons had 12 assists. Bowling Green has registered 10-plus assists in 18-of-21 games in 2019-20.
• Bowling Green's bench scored 34 points compared to just nine points for the Ball State bench. The Falcons also had more fast-break points (15-10).

PLAYER NOTES
• Junior forward Trey Diggs had a career night for the Falcons. Diggs set career highs in points (25), made field goals (8) and made triples (5). Diggs went 8-for-12 from the field, including a 5-for-8 mark from downtown. Diggs went 4-for-5 from the line, tying his career high with four made free throws.
• Diggs also chipped in with six rebounds and tallied his fourth-career block. Diggs was a rather-insane +24 in 23:41 minutes on the court.
• For Diggs, his 25 points is tied for the second-highest scoring game in his collegiate career. As a freshman at DII Florida Southern, he scored 31 points against Miles on Dec. 13, 2017. He also poured in 25 points at Tampa on Jan. 17, 2018.
• Redshirt-junior guard Justin Turner scored all 20 of his points in the second half. The last time a Falcon scored 20+ points in a half? It was Turner. He scored 23 points in the second half in last year's home win over Akron on Feb. 19, 2019. On that night, Turner's game-winner with 0.9 seconds left put him over 1,000 career points.
• Turner went 7-of-14 from the floor in the second half. Turner has scored 20-plus points a total of 34 times as a Falcon.
• With his 20 points, Turner surpassed John Reimold (2002-05 | 1,380) on BGSU's all-time scoring list. Turner now ranks 17th all-time, having scored 1,393 points in 84 games.
• Junior forward Daeqwon Plowden posted seven points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Plowden's previous career high for rebounds in a game was 13. He had 13 rebounds in the win at Toledo on Jan. 25, 2020. He also had 13 rebounds at Detroit Mercy last season on Nov. 20, 2018.
• This season, Plowden has recorded 10-plus rebounds a total of 11 times. Over his first two seasons combined, he had one game with 10-plus rebounds.
• Senior guard Dylan Frye finished the ballgame with four points, six assists, zero turnovers, one rebound and one steal. Over BGSU's last two games, Frye has combined for 12 assists and just one turnover.
• In 4:06 minutes of action, redshirt-freshman center Dylan Swingle had four points and one rebound. Swingle went 1-for-1 from the floor, and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.
• Senior guard Michael Laster finished the contest with two points, two assists, two steals and three rebounds. Over Bowling Green's seven-game win streak, Laster has combined for 27 assists and seven turnovers.
• Sophomore guard Caleb Fields (2 points / 4 rebounds) and redshirt-sophomore forward Matiss Kulackovskis (3 points / 3 rebounds) contributed in the winning effort for the Orange and Brown.

MEN'S BASKETBALL LINKS
BGSU Men's Basketball Tickets
2019-20 BGSU Men's Basketball Schedule
2019-20 BGSU Men's Basketball Quick Facts / Prospectus
Join The Falcon Club Today!

TOLEDO TICKETS -- Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020
There are limited tickets available for Bowling Green's home game versus Toledo on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 4:30 p.m., including less than 150 seats left in the mid-court sections. Call the ticket office today at 877-BGSU TICKET to reserve your tickets, or visit the link below. Tickets are also available for purchase by visiting the ticket office inside the Stroh Center.

UPCOMING HOME SCHEDULE
Feb. 8 | 4:30 p.m. | vs. Toledo (Battle of I-75 / Bill Frack Challenge) | TICKETS
Feb. 22 | 4:30 p.m. | vs. Ohio (20-Year Reunion of 99-00 Championship) | TICKETS
Feb. 25 | 7 p.m. | vs. Akron (Pink Game) | TICKETS

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
Twitter: @BGSUMHoops / @BGAthletics
Instagram: @BGFalcons
Website: BGSUFalcons.com

Gallery: (1/28/2020) MBB vs. Ball State (Brad Phalin)

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results