Offensive Onslaught Fuels Falcons Over Fairmont State For School Day Game Victory

Monday, December 19

Bowling Green, Ohio

11:00 AM

Bowling Green State University

5-7,0-0MAC

Fairmont State

8-4,3-3MEC

Fairmont St.

Bowling Green

Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics

Offensive Onslaught Fuels Falcons Over Fairmont State For School Day Game Victory

December 19, 2022 | Men's Basketball

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By: by Kyle Edmond, BGSU Athletics

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University men's basketball program tallied a season-high 93 points on a season-best 53.6% from the field and 87.1% from the free throw line to pick up the win over Fairmont State on Monday (Dec. 19). A 22-2 stretch in the first half pushed the Orange and Brown out in front and the Falcons didn't look back, capturing the 93-74 win after closing out the game with a 12-0 run. The win pushes Bowling Green to 5-7 on the season with one more non-conference contest on the schedule, hosting Ohio Dominican on Dec. 29.

The Falcons were led by Leon Ayers III who narrowly missed a triple-double. Ayers finished with 20 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. Sam Towns posted a career-high 19 points while Rashaun Agee added 18. BGSU recorded 46 points in the paint, winning the battle down low 46-22. The Orange and Brown also matched their season-high for assists in a game with 20.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Fairmont State came out of the gates firing, scoring the first seven points of the game to take a 7-0 lead.
The Orange and Brown worked to narrow the gap, bringing the score to 17-14 Fairmont State at the under-12 media timeout of the first half.
Bowling Green continued to chip away, closing the lead to just one at the under-8 media timeout with a 6-0 run to make the score 22-21 Fairmont State.
The run stretched to 13-0 for BGSU out of the timeout, taking a 28-24 advantage. The lead continued to grow for Bowling Green, stretching to 37-24 with a 22-2 stretch going into the final media timeout of the first half.
Fairmont State cut into the lead late in the half with an 8-0 run, but the Falcons maintained the lead going into the break up 41-39.
Bowling Green opened the second half with a 15-4 stretch to take a 59-45 lead into the first timeout of the half.
An 8-0 run for Fairmont State drew the score 64-58 Bowling Green. FSU continued to chip away up to the media timeout with BGSU leading 73-67.
The Orange and Brown were able to stay out in front and closed the game with a 12-0 run to capture the 93-74 victory.

STAT LEADERS

Leon Ayers III: 20 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals
Sam Towns: 19 points, 7 rebounds
Rashaun Agee: 18 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
Brenton Mills: 12 points, 5 rebounds
Samari Curtis: 9 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block
Isaac Elsasser: 9 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist

FALCON STAT FACTS

As a team, the Falcons shot a season-best 53.6% from the field, the first time this season BGSU has been above the 50% threshold. Bowling Green is now 3-0 this season when finishing with a better field goal percentage than their opponent.
Bowling Green tallied a season-high 93 points in the game. The win moves BGSU to 4-0 this season when registering at least 80 points in a game. The last time the Falcons posted 90+ points was a 92-83 win over Northern Illinois on Jan. 18, 2022.
As a team, the Orange and Brown tallied 20 assists for the second time this season. BGSU has had double-digit assists in seven straight games and are averaging 16.1 assists per game over that stretch.
Bowling Green went an impressive 27-of-31 from the free throw line, concluding the game with a mark of 87.1%, the best percentage of the season when attempting at least 10 free throws in a game.
The Falcons went to work in the paint, logging just shy of half of their points down low with 46. Bowling Green outscored Fairmont State 46-22 in the point.
Leon Ayers III led the Falcons in scoring with his fourth 20-point game of the season. Ayers narrowly missed a triple-double, concluding the game with 20 points, a season-high eight rebounds and a career-high eight assists, leading the team in both points and rebounds.
Sam Towns concluded the game with a career-high 19 points, going a perfect 8-for-8 from the field. The performance brings Towns' season point tally to 73, setting a new single-season-high for his collegiate career.
Samari Curtis did a little bit of everything for the Falcons. He led the team in assists with nine while adding nine points, five rebounds, two steals and a block to fill up the stat sheet.
Rashaun Agee recorded a career-high 18 points for the Falcons, matching his career-best for field goals made with six in the contest.
Brenton Mills posted a season-high 12 points for the Falcons, going a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line on his birthday. Mills added a season-best five rebounds to his stat line in the effort. Mills has now played with the Falcons on his birthday twice and has averaged 12.5 points per game over those two games.
Ubongabasi Etim, Madani Diarra and Jackson Watson all saw minutes late in the game. Etim grabbed his first defensive rebound of his career, Diarra snagged a defensive board and Watson made his first bucket at home this season.
With the win, the Falcons move back to .500 at home on the season with a 3-3 record inside the Stroh Center.
Bowling Green is now 2-0 all-time against Fairmont State in regular season matchups.

TODD WALKER RADIO CALLS
Towns And-One
Elsasser Fast Break Layup
Mills And-One
Ayers III Triple
Curtis And-One
Me-THREE-ny
Ayers To Towns Alley Oop
Agee And-One
Falcons Win!

QUOTE FROM COACH HUGER
"They're a very good team. They play well together and have been together for a while.They can score the ball, I see why they average 95 points a game. They can score in a variety of ways. They're just a very good team and this was a great challenge for us. A nice test going into break. We got one more after break and then it's MAC play."

Full postgame interview with Todd Walker

UP NEXT
The Falcons will have nine days off for the holidays before returning to the court on Dec. 29 to host Ohio Dominican in the final non-conference game of the season. The game is set for a 5 p.m. tip at the Stroh Center. BGSU will then begin conference play on Jan. 3 on the road at Eastern Michigan.

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