Strong Defensive Showing Leads BGSU Over USI In Close Contest

Saturday, December 2

Evansville, Ind.

4 p.m. EST

Bowling Green State University

5-3,0-0MAC

Southern Indiana

2-7,0-0OVC

Bowling Green

Southern Ind.

Photo by: Lauren Laudato, BGSU Athletics

December 02, 2023 | Men's Basketball

Box Score BGSU-USI Game Stats Support Our Student-Athletes Photo Gallery

Falcons Tally Third Straight Win Ahead Of Five-Game Homestand

By: by Kyle Edmond, BGSU Athletics

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team continued their three-game winning streak with a defensive showdown victory over Southern Indiana Saturday (Dec. 2), 54-52. After trailing at the half by seven, an early 8-0 run in the second half brought the score to a one-point game. The two teams traded buckets to the last buzzer with USI's game-winning attempt coming just after time expired for the 54-52 final to push BGSU to 5-3 on the season with five straight home games coming up.

Pending a stat change, Marcus Hill led the Falcons in scoring for the fourth consecutive game, tallying 17 for the Orange and Brown. Jason Spurgin added 10 points while Sam Towns scored eight to go along with a team-leading and career-high 11 rebounds. Trey Thomas put together a full stat line as well with six points, five rebounds and a team-leading three assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Southern Indiana tallied the first points of the game, but the Falcons responded. Jason Spurgin pump-faked from behind the arc before driving for a pull up jumper for the first BGSU points. Sam Towns followed with a layup on the next possession for a 4-2 BGSU advantage.
USI answered with a 5-0 run to reclaim the lead at 7-4, but Spurgin hit a three for the Falcons to knot it up at 7-7.
The Screaming Eagles tallied the next point, but a three from Trey Thomas swung the score back to the Orange and Brown at 10-9.
Following Thomas' three, Rashaun Agee added a free throw as well as a Towns layup to make it a 6-0 BGSU run and 13-9 advantage.
The run extended for the Falcons to 8-0 with a layup from PJ Edwards, holding Southern Indiana scoreless for over seven minutes of game time.
Southern Indiana worked to chip away at the Bowling Green lead, bringing the score to a tie at 19-19.
The run for the Screaming Eagles stretched to 9-0, pushing ahead with a 24-19 lead.
The lead for Southern Indiana extended to 28-21 at the halftime buzzer, closing out the first half with a 17-4 stretch.
Marcus Hill tallied four early points in the second half to help the Falcons trim the deficit to 30-25 at the first media timeout of the second half.
Just before the under-12 media timeout, Thomas got a steal and found Spurgin in transition for the layup to make it a 33-28 score at the break.
The transition bucket started an 8-0 run for the Falcons with Thomas and DJ Smith both hitting threes for the Falcons to push BGSU in front 34-33.
The pendulum between the two teams began to swing, trading leads. Smith found Hill in the paint to make it a 38-37 BGSU lead. Smith followed it up by drawing a charge on the other end to bring a media timeout.
Southern Indiana tied the game at 42-42, but the Falcons pushed back in front 46-42 with layups from Hill and Agee.
USI narrowed the gap to 46-45, but Smith hit a long three to extend the BGSU lead to 49-45 and force a timeout from the Screaming Eagles.
Southern Indiana again cut into the lead, this time from the free throw line for a 5-0 run, to make it a 51-50 tally with under a minute to play.
Hill added two free throws for the Falcons before USI responded with the same result for a 53-52 score with 11 seconds remaining.
Hill added another free throw to push the BGSU lead to 54-52. Southern Indiana got a look to tie, but the shot was off late to give the Falcons a 54-52 victory.

STAT LEADERS

Marcus Hill: 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steal, 9-of-10 from the free throw line
Jason Spurgin: 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks
Sam Towns: 8 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block
Trey Thomas: 6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
DJ Smith: 6 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assist, 1 steal

FALCON STAT FACTS

The Falcons have now won a season-best three consecutive games with the win also marking the first over Southern Indiana in program history.
The win marks the first true road win for BGSU with the two previous wins away from Bowling Green being at neutral sites. The Falcons are also 3-0 when playing on Saturday this season.
The Orange and Brown are now 1-0 in the month of December with the win also marking the first of the season in the black uniforms. It's also the first win for BGSU this season after trailing at halftime.
As a team, the Falcons forced 18 turnovers and tallied eight steals, matching their season-high after having eight against Arkansas State as well.
Marcus Hill led the Falcons in scoring for the fourth straight game, ending with 17 including a season-high nine makes at the free throw line. Hill added season-highs in rebounds (6) and steals (2).
Jason Spurgin joined Hill in double-digit scoring with 10 points. Spurgin has now recorded 10 or more points in five of the last six games.
Trey Thomas registered his first points with BGSU, ending with six in the game. Thomas added a season-high five rebounds, matching his career-high, as well as a team-high three assists and his first steal of the season.
Sam Towns ended the game with eight points and a career-high 11 rebounds, including a career-high five on the offensive end while playing a career-high 38 minutes.

TODD WALKER RADIO CALLS
Triple For Trey
Spurgin In Transition
Smith For The Lead
Hill Off Smith Dish
Smith Clutch Corner Three
Falcons Win!

QUOTE FROM COACH SIMON
"When you shoot 28-percent on the road, you usually don't come away with a win. But to our guys credit, defensively we were good. Forced 18 turnovers, allowed only 31% from the floor on someone's home court. I thought on the defensive end we were really good. Sometimes those shots don't fall on the road and clearly they didn't today, but we're getting there. We knew it was going to have to be a grimy win."

Full interview with Todd Walker

UP NEXT
The Falcons will return home to the Stroh Center on Dec. 10 for their first of five straight home games, hosting Ohio Dominican for a 2 p.m. tip.

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