Bowling Green Begins 2022-23 Campaign With Home Victory Over Air Force

Monday, November 7

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

1-0,0-0MAC

Air Force

0-1,0-0Mountain West

Air Force

Bowling Green

Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics

Bowling Green Begins 2022-23 Campaign With Home Victory Over Air Force

November 07, 2022 | Men's Basketball

Box Score BGSU-Air Force Box Score Coach Huger Interview Rashaun Agee Interview Leon Ayers III Interivew Game Highlights Support Our Student-Athletes Photo Gallery

By: by Kyle Edmond, BGSU Athletics

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University men's basketball program opened the 2022-23 campaign with a win over the Air Force Falcons on Monday night (Nov. 7) inside the Stroh Center. Air Force jumped out to a 13-2 lead early in the contest, but Bowling Green quickly rallied to take the lead at 19-18 and didn't look back, holding the lead for the remainder of the game. The game concluded in BGSU's favor with a 62-58 final, granting the Falcons a win to open the season and mark the program's fifth consecutive home opener victory.

On the court, the Falcons were paced by three double-digit scorers. Leon Ayers III led the way with 16, followed closely by Samari Curtis with 14 and Rashaun Agee with 13. Ayers and Agee each added seven rebounds to the winning effort, tied for the team-lead, while Sam Towns added six. As for the assists column, Curtis topped the stat sheet with three.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Air Force jumped out to a 13-2 lead, including an 11-0 run, but Bowling Green quickly closed the gap with an 8-0 run before narrowing the score to 15-14 at the second media timeout of the first half.
A 5-0 run granted BGSU their first lead of the game, going up 19-18 with just over nine minutes remaining in the first half.
The run continued for the Orange and Brown, stretching to 10-0 to take a 24-18 lead into a media timeout.
Air Force put together a 5-0 stretch out of the timeout to bring the score within one at 24-23 BGSU, but another 5-0 run for Bowling Green reestablished the advantage at 29-23, capped by a Rashaun Agee block before the media break.
BGSU maintained the lead through the end of the first half, taking a 35-29 advantage into the locker room at the halfway point.
The two teams traded buckets to begin the second half before an early 5-0 run for Air Force closed the BGSU lead to 39-38, but a Leon Ayers III layup ended the stretch and extended the Bowling Green lead back to 41-38 before the first media timeout of the second half.
The contest remained close in the second half with the teams trading triples just before the next media break, coming via a 30 second timeout by Air Force. BGSU took a 48-44 lead into the timeout.
The Orange and Brown went on a 7-0 run to increase the lead before a media break, going into the timeout with a 55-44 advantage.
Air Force closed the gap once again with a 5-0 stretch with Bowling Green pausing the action with the score at 57-52 BGSU.
Air Force made a late push, but Bowling Green's defense stood strong, hanging on for a 62-58 victory.

STAT LEADERS

Leon Ayers III: 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals
Samari Curtis: 14 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
Rashaun Agee: 13 points, 7 rebounds, 1 block
Isaac Elsasser: 5 points, 1 rebound
Sam Towns: 3 points, 6 rebounds

FALCON STAT FACTS

With the win, the Orange and Brown have now won five straight home openers and advance to 1-0 for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign.
Holding a lead with two minutes remaining, BGSU picked up the 100th win during the Coach Huger Era when the team is leading with two minutes left. During the Coach Huger Era, the Orange and Brown are 100-7 when leading with two minutes left in the game.
During the Huger Era, the Falcons have allowed 60 or fewer points 25 times, including tonight. In those games, BGSU holds a record of 22-3.
This was the first meeting all-time against Air Force for Bowling Green, moving BGSU to 1-0 against Air Force in program history.

TODD WALKER RADIO CALLS
Ayers Tallies First BG Bucket Of 2022-23
Agee And-One
Mills Triple
Bowling Green Takes The Lead
Curtis From Downtown
Towns Rejection
Ayers Steal, Metheny Three
Elsasser Triple
Lightfoot From The Corner
Falcons Win!

COACH'S QUOTE
"The defense was really, really good," said Head Coach Michael Huger. "Proud of the defense, the effort that those guys gave, paying attention to details. It was just a fun night for us and the energy was awesome."

Full Postgame Interview with Todd Walker

UP NEXT
The Falcons will take to the road for their next contest, traveling to Rochester, Mich. on Friday (Nov. 11) to face the Oakland Golden Grizzlies. The game will be the first of four straight road games for the Falcons with the next home game set for Nov. 26 against Southern Indiana.

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