Frye Breaks Three-Point Record As Falcons Beat Buffalo For Eighth-Straight Victory

Box Score
Post-Game Audio: Coach Huger With Todd Walker

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team overcame a 14-point deficit in a very hostile environment on Friday (Jan. 31) night, earning a thrilling 78-77 win at the University at Buffalo. The Mid-American Conference contest, which was played at UB's Alumni Arena, aired in front of a national audience on ESPNU.

The Falcons have won eight-straight MAC games for the first time since 1979-80. Bowling Green is 4-0 in league road games for the second time ever, and first time since 1961-62. BGSU – the only one-loss team in conference – sits in solo first place with an 8-1 MAC record.

Senior guard Dylan Frye went 3-for-4 from downtown, breaking the BGSU three-point record in the process. The record-breaking triple – a deep three in transition – gave the Falcons a one-point lead with under four minutes to play. Frye has made 229 three-pointers in his career. The record was previously held by John Reimold, who made 228 triples from 2002-05.

With 15 seconds to play, and Bowling Green winning by a score of 78-76, UB's Jeenathan Williams grabbed a defensive rebound. Jayvon Graves then drew a shooting foul with seven seconds remaining. He made the first, but missed the second. In a scramble for the ball, the officials ruled that it was last touched by Buffalo with 4.9 seconds to go.

However, after a review, the officials reversed the call, giving UB a chance for the win. Buffalo tossed the ball to Graves at the near elbow. He drove the ball, but was blocked off by sophomore guard Caleb Fields. Graves stumbled, regained his footing and went up for the game-winner, which was blocked by Fields as time expired.

Redshirt-junior guard Justin Turner led the Falcons with 23 points. Frye finished with 17 points, while junior forward Daeqwon Plowden and sophomore center Tayler Mattos scored 10 points apiece. Redshirt-sophomore forward Matiss Kulackovskis added seven points and five rebounds.

BOWLING GREEN WINS!!!!!!@calebjojofields says NO SIR!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/rcWPpkWv4e
— BoWWWWWWWWling Green Basketball (@BGSUMHoops) February 1, 2020

If you are going to become the school's ALL-TIME three-point king, you may as well do it in style...@DylanFrye05 with an NBA range three-pointer to give him 229 for his career -- a new @BGSUMHoops record! #DeepFrye229 | #MACtion pic.twitter.com/3SBz6FpgOk
— #MACtion (@MACSports) February 1, 2020

TODD WALKER RADIO CALLS
• Transition Bucket For Turner (47-46, UB)
• Plowden Three-Pointer (49-47, BG)
• Plowden MONSTER SLAM!! (54-51, UB)
• #DeepFrye229 (69-68, BG)
• Key Turner Layup (71-70, BG)
• Clutch Turner Basket (73-72, BG)
• FALCONS WIN!!! (78-77, BG)

TEAM NOTES
• Bowling Green continues to sit all alone atop the Mid-American Conference standings. Central Michigan (4-2) is the only two-loss team in the league. The remaining schools all have three-plus MAC losses.
• BGSU has won eight-straight conference games for the first time since 1979-80. All eight games have been won by single digits. The Falcons have won eight-straight games by single digits for the first time in school history. BGSU has won the eight games by a combined 32 points, marking the lowest combined margin of victory across an eight-game winning streak in the history of the program.
• For just the second time ever – and first time since 1961-62 – the Falcons have won their first four conference road games. The 1961-62 team lost its fifth road game that year – a 70-59 decision at Toledo – but went on to win a regular-season MAC title with a league record of 11-1.
• Bowling Green has matched the school record for best MAC start through nine games. The Falcons have started MAC play with an 8-1 record a total of five times, including each of the last two seasons. BGSU has started 8-1 in the MAC in the following seasons: 2019-20; 2018-19; 1982-83; 1979-80; 1961-62.
• BGSU has won at least 17 of its first 22 games for the first time since 2001-02. Bowling Green has won at least 17 of its first 22 games for just the 10th time in program history.
• The Falcons have won at all 11 opposing MAC venues under head coach Michael Huger. Heading into the season, BGSU had never won at Toledo or Buffalo under Huger.
• The victory marks Bowling Green's first at Alumni Arena since Jan. 8, 2011. Heading into the night, the Falcons had lost eight-straight games at Buffalo.
• The win marked Bowling Green's first at Alumni Arena in the Michael Huger Era.
• The Falcons have trimmed Buffalo's lead in the all-time series to a single game. Buffalo leads the all-time series by a 21-20 margin.
• Bowling Green finishes the month of January with an 8-1 record. The year of 1997 marks the last time that the Falcons won eight-plus games in the same month. BGSU went 8-2 in January of 1997.
• Over its last 27 conference games, the Falcons have racked up a record of 20-7.
• With the win, Bowling Green moved to 26-17 in the month of January under head coach Michael Huger.
• Bowling Green has come back from 10-plus points in four of its eight MAC wins, including three comeback victories after trailing by 14 points. BGSU trailed by 10 points in its win over Ball State (Jan. 28). The Falcons overcame 14-point deficits in wins over Miami (Jan. 7), Ohio (Jan. 11) and Buffalo (Jan. 31).
• Over BGSU's eight-game winning streak, its opponents are shooting 30.1 percent (54-of-179) from three-point territory. BGSU has limited its opposition to two triples (or less) in seven of its last 16 halves of basketball. Buffalo shot just 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from downtown on the night. The Falcons held the Bulls to a 2-of-10 (20.0 percent) clip from deep in the second half.
• The Falcons registered eight steals, which is tied for fourth most in a single game in 2019-20.
• Bowling Green posted 40 rebounds in the contest. The Falcons have collected 40-plus rebounds in 14-of-22 games in 2019-20.
• Bowling Green scored 21 points off of 13 Buffalo turnovers. The Bulls were only able to score 13 points off of 11 BGSU turnovers. The Falcons also had more fast-break points (18-17) than the Bulls.
• Bowling Green and Buffalo have played on national television in each of the last six meetings. Every game since the 2017-18 season between the two schools has been picked up by national TV.
• The contest featured six ties and 12 lead changes. The Falcons found a way to win despite leading for just 8:13 of the game's 40 minutes.

PLAYER NOTES
• Senior guard Dylan Frye's three-pointer with 3:54 to go in the game – which gave the Falcons a 69-68 lead – made him the program's all-time leader in three-point field goals with 229. He surpassed John Reimold, who made 228 treys from 2002-05. Frye went 3-for-4 from deep. He's made multiple triples in the same game a total of 67 times.
• Frye scored in double figures for the 72nd time in his illustrious Falcon career. The Miami native had 17 points to go along with four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
• Frye also surpassed John Reimold on BGSU's all-time scoring list. Frye now ranks 17th all-time, having scored 1,395 points in 119 games.
• Redshirt-junior guard Justin Turner scored 23 points on 11-of-21 shooting. Turner fell one field goal shy of tying his career high. Turner has now scored 20-plus points in four-consecutive games. Turner has scored 20-plus points 35 times in his career.
• Turner became the 17th player in Bowling Green history to reach 1,400 career points. The native of Detroit has scored 1,416 points in 85 games. He now ranks 15th all-time in scoring at BGSU. On the night, he surpassed Anthony Robinson (1984-88 | 1,401) and Joe Faine (1977-81 | 1,409).
• Junior forward Daeqwon Plowden scored 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, while also notching a team-high six rebounds. Plowden has scored 10-plus points in 16 games in 2019-20. Across his first two seasons combined, the native of Philadelphia had a total of 15 double-figure scoring games.
• Sophomore center Tayler Mattos scored in double figures for the fourth time this season. The big man scored 10 points, while also pulling down four rebounds. Mattos went 4-for-6 from the floor.
• Redshirt-sophomore Matiss Kulackovskis earned crunch-time minutes yet again, as he was a part of Bowling Green's closing lineup. The Latvian added seven points and five rebounds.
• Sophomore guard Caleb Fields came up with arguably the biggest play of the game, as he blocked Jayvon Graves' shot on the final play of the contest. Fields earned a +10 on-court rating, while finishing the contest with four points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks. Fields led the team with three assists.
• Junior forward Trey Diggs (1 rebound) and freshman guard Davin Zeigler (2 rebounds) each scored three points.
• Senior guard Michael Laster finished the contest with one point and two rebounds. Over Bowling Green's eight-game winning streak, Laster has combined for 27 assists and eight turnovers.
• Senior forward Marlon Sierra and redshirt-freshman center Dylan Swingle chipped in on the glass with four rebounds and three rebounds, respectively. Sierra also tied his season high with two assists.

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