Falcons Overcome Halftime Deficit To Down Dukes

Wednesday, December 1

Pittsburgh, Pa.

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

4-4,0-0MAC

Duquesne

3-5,0-0Atlantic 10

Bowling Green

Duquesne

Photo by: Stephen Linsky, BGSU Athletics

December 01, 2021 | Men's Basketball

Box Score BGSU-Duquesne Stats

By: by Kyle Edmond, BGSU Athletics

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Bowling Green State University men's basketball program overcame a double-digit deficit on Wednesday night (Dec. 1) to top Duquesne 78-70. The Falcons were able to see a 12-0 run to close out a back-and-forth game for the victory. Four different Falcons reached double-digit points in the contest, including Joe Reece with his second double-double of the season (15 points, 12 rebounds). The win gets Bowling Green back to .500 on the season at 4-4 before returning to the Stroh Center for four straight home games in the month of December.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The game started out with each team going on a run. The Falcons tallied the first four points of the game before the Dukes rattled off 10 straight. Daeqwon Plowden drilled a three to cut the score to 10-7 Duquesne at the first media timeout.
The Dukes built back their lead, but were later held scoreless for more than two and a half minutes, allowing the Falcons to cut into the deficit.
Bowling Green utilized a 7-0 run to bring the game to a one possession game, 28-25, with just under five minutes left in the first half. The run would continue to 11-0 for the Falcons, taking a 29-28 lead.
Duquesne reclaimed the lead with a 7-0 run to close out the first half, sending the teams to the locker rooms with a score of 38-32, Dukes.
The Orange and Brown continued to chip away at the lead out of the break, including back-to-back three-pointers from Kaden Metheny to narrow the lead to just three for the Dukes.
The game resumed going back-and-forth until an 8-0 run for the Falcons put BGSU ahead for the first time in the second half at 60-59 thanks to five straight from Josiah Fulcher. The next time down, Samurai Curtis fed Daeqwon Plowden for a slam to get the run to 10-0 and a three-point Bowling Green lead.
The lead would continue to shift, but a 6-0 run for Bowling Green, capped by a Samari Curtis triple just inside the final minute of regulation, gave the Orange and Brown a late 72-70 lead. The Falcons would add another six before the final buzzer, ending the game on a 12-0 run to capture the 78-70 victory.

STAT LEADERS

Joe Reece: 15 points, 12 rebounds
Kaden Metheny: 15 points, 3 assists
Samari Curtis: 14 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds
Daeqwon Plowden: 13 points, 9 rebounds, 1 block
Josiah Fulcher: 7 points, 7 rebounds

FALCON STAT FACTS

It was a night of firsts for the Falcons, including the first road win of the season at a non-neutral site, the first pair of consecutive wins on the season and the first win of the year after trailing at halftime.
The win also marks the first for the Falcons against Duquesne since Dec. 5, 2001, snapping a four-game losing streak against the Dukes.
Statistically, Joe Reece led the way for the Falcons on the night. Reece posted his second double-double of the season behind 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Daeqwon Plowden continued his quest through the record books. With nine rebounds in the game, Plowden passed Al Dixon for eighth all-time for career rebounds, now with 781 in the Orange and Brown. Plowden's 13 points also puts him at 1,250 career points, 26th all-time.
Kaden Metheny reached double-digit points for the first time this season, concluding the night with 15, tying Reece for the team-lead.
Samari Curtis joined in with season-bests nearly across the board. His 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds all set new season-highs, accomplished over a season-high 28 minutes.
Bowling Green entered the night as the 22nd-best rebounding team in the nation, averaging 42.8 rebounds per game. The Falcons went on to bring down 49 rebounds against the Dukes, winning the battle on the boards 49-39. BGSU is 3-0 when outrebounding their opponent this season.
The Orange and Brown are now 2-0 this season when using the starting five of Kaden Metheny, Samari Curtis, Trey Diggs, Daeqwon Plowden and Joe Reece.
The victory puts the Falcons back at .500 on the season (4-4) while starting off December with a win. December has been Bowling Green's best month during the Huger Era, now 22-12 (.647) when playing in December.

Samari Curtis with the signature!

Season-High 14 points ✅
Season-High 7 assists ✅
Season-High 5 rebounds ✅#AyZiggy🟠🟤 pic.twitter.com/wet92HSbdV
— BGSU Men's Basketball (@BGSUMHoops) December 2, 2021

TODD WALKER RADIO CALLS
Curtis Puts BG On The Board
Turner Coast-To-Coast
Kulackovskis Triple
#Meth3ny Puts Falcons Ahead
Reece Slam
Fulcher For The Lead
#AirPlowden
Reece And-One
Fulcher Draws The Charge
Curtis From Deep
Falcons Win!

COACH'S QUOTE
"It was a lot of fun to get out there and coach those guys and watch how hard they worked, how hard they played, how hard they competed. The biggest thing, they held each other accountable. That's something we've been working on. Those guys did a great job holding each other accountable and that was fun to see."

Full Postgame Interview with Todd Walker

UP NEXT
The Falcons will return to the court for the first of four straight home games on Tuesday, Dec. 7 against Oakland University. The game is set for a 7 p.m. tip-off and will be Heroes Night at the Stroh Center.

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