Five Falcon Seniors Recognized As BGSU Falls To Golden Flashes

Saturday, February 25

Bowling Green, Ohio

5:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

10-19,4-12MAC

Kent State

23-6,13-3MAC

Kent St.

Bowling Green

Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics

February 25, 2023 | Men's Basketball

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By: by Kyle Edmond, BGSU Athletics

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team took on the second-place Kent State Golden Flashes Saturday (Feb. 25) inside the Stroh Center for Senior Night. The Falcons and Golden Flashes played a back-and-forth game with Bowling Green taking a five-point lead into halftime. A strong second half by Kent State pushed KSU ahead for the 79-69 final.

The Falcons recognized five seniors before the game and started all five with Madani Diarra recording a rebound in his first start in the Orange and Brown. BGSU had four players reach double-digit points and nearly had five with Brenton Mills concluding with nine points and a team-high nine rebounds. Chandler Turner and Samari Curtis each finished with 11 points while Leon Ayers III and Kaden Metheny each had 10.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The two teams came out trading baskets, heading into the first media timeout with an 8-8 tie.
The ties continued to 10-10, but a small 4-0 burst pushed the Falcons ahead 14-10, taking a 16-12 lead into the second media timeout of the first half.
Coming out of the timeout, Bowling Green went on a 12-2 run to increase the team's lead to 26-14.
Kent State battled back with an 11-2 run, cutting the BGSU lead to 30-27 and forcing a timeout from the Bowling Green bench.
The Golden Flashes hit a three out of the timeout to tie the game at 30-30 before the final media timeout of the first half.
The Falcons closed out the first half with a 9-2 run, taking a 42-37 lead into the halftime break.
A 7-0 run early in the second half for Kent State tied the game at 44-44. The Falcons moved out in front again, 48-44, but a 9-0 run for the Golden Flashes gave KSU a 53-48 lead, forcing a BGSU timeout.
A 4-0 burst later in the half cut the Kent State lead down to 60-58, but Kent State made a couple buckets to move it back to 64-58.
A 5-0 run by Kent State pushed their lead to double-digits at 73-63, forcing a Bowling Green timeout.
The two teams traded points the rest of the way, playing to a 79-69 final in favor of the Golden Flashes.

STAT LEADERS

Chandler Turner: 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block
Samari Curtis: 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block
Kaden Metheny: 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
Leon Ayers III: 10 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Brenton Mills: 9 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals

FALCON STAT FACTS

As a team, the Falcons tallied 12 assists in the game, the team's fourth straight game with at least 10 assists. In the team's 29 games, Bowling Green has finished with 10+ assists 22 times.
For the seventh time this season, and third during MAC play, the Falcons concluded the game with at least 40 rebounds, hitting the mark exactly.
Bowling Green made 21 free throws, surpassing the 20 free throws attempted mark for the seventh time this season and the fourth time against a MAC opponent.
Kaden Metheny added another triple to his season tally, now with 65. Metheny needs one more to tie, and two to pass, Trey Diggs for 10th in program history for three-pointers made in a single season.
Metheny made a season-high five trips to the free throw line, making all five attempts as one of three Falcons to be perfect at the line in the game.
With four rebounds in the game, Samari Curtis brought his season total to 92, setting a new career-high for rebounds in a single season, previously set at 90 from last season.
After entering the night with just one career block, Isaac Elsasser tallied two in the game for the Falcons.
Brenton Mills led the Falcons in rebounds with a career-high nine, including a career-high five on the offensive end of the court. Mills also tallied a team-high two steals in the game.
Madani Diarra made his first start of the season, coming on senior night, and tallied a rebound for the Orange and Brown.

UP NEXT
The Falcons will host their final home game of the 2022-23 regular season on Tuesday (Feb. 28), hosting NBA prospect Emoni Bates and the Eastern Michigan Eagles. The theme for the game will be Rocky Night at the Stroh Center ahead of the theatrical release of Creed III.

Follow the Falcons
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