Thomas, Johnson Both Post 20-Point Games As Falcons Best Buffalo

Tuesday, January 14

Bowling Green, Ohio

7 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

7-9,2-2MAC

Buffalo

5-11,0-4MAC

Buffalo

Bowling Green

Photo by: Scott W. Grau

January 14, 2025 | Men's Basketball

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Thomas Eclipses 1,000 Career Points With Team-Leading 22 Points

By: by Kyle Edmond, BGSU Athletics

Ziggyville Population: 431
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team got back in the win column Tuesday night (Jan. 14) with a 79-61 victory over the Buffalo Bulls. The Falcons were powered by the duo of Trey Thomas and Marcus Johnson offensively. Each made three three-pointers with Thomas scoring 22 and Johnson finishing with 21 in the win. The Falcons put together a strong second half charge, shooting 50-percent from the field as well as 50-percent from three, building on their halftime lead for the win. The Falcons are now back up to .500 in MAC play at 2-2.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Buffalo tallied the first two points of the game, but the Falcons answered with a 5-0 run. Jamai Felt sank one free throw followed by two at the line from Trey Thomas. Marcus Johnson hit a fadeaway to cap the run.
The Bulls hit a three, but Bowling Green responded with a triple from Johnson to take an 8-5 lead into the first media timeout.
Buffalo added two free throws after the timeout to draw within one. Derrick Butler answered with three free throws of his own. The next time down, Braelon Green found Johnson, threading the needle with a bounce pass, with Johnson hitting a hook shot.
The Bulls made a layup, but a second-chance effort from Felt matched the score with a 15-9 tally at the under-12 break.
Coming out of the break, Buffalo utilized a 6-0 run to tie the score up at 15-15. Thomas ended the run with a layup, sending him past the 1,000-career point mark for his collegiate career and granting the Falcons a 17-15 lead at the under-8 timeout.
The two teams began trading points at the line. UB hit two before Felt sank two of his own. An and-one opportunity for Buffalo pushed them in front, but Javontae Campbell went to the line and hit two for a 21-20 BGSU advantage. However, a layup swung the score back to Buffalo, 22-21, at the final media timeout of the first half.
Out of the break, Johnson continued the free throw barrage for the Falcons, adding two more to reclaim the lead. A three from Wilguens Jr. Exacte moved the BGSU lead to 26-22.
Three free throws pulled Buffalo back up to a 26-26 knot. Green pushed the Falcons ahead with a jumper that the Bulls matched. Johnson added two at the line for a 30-28 BGSU lead, prompting a Buffalo timeout for a final shot before the half.
The Falcons forced a turnover on the Buffalo possession with Green getting a layup to go on the other end before the buzzer for a 32-28 BGSU lead at the half.
Bowling Green opened the second half strong. Johnson started the second half with a hook shot. Campbell tallied a steal that turned into a Thomas jumper. The run continued with a Johnson three, prompting a Buffalo timeout with a 7-0 BGSU start to the half and an 11-0 run across the break.
Buffalo stopped the run out of the timeout with a layup. Buffalo added a three for a 5-0 burst, but another Johnson triple ended the run with a 42-33 BGSU lead at the media timeout.
Thomas stretched the Bowling Green lead with a layup out of the timeout. Buffalo hit a three, but Butler answered with one from the corner to match. A Bull free throw made it a 47-37 tally.
The three-point shots continued for the Falcons with Thomas knocking one down from deep and then another in transition for a 53-37 advantage. Buffalo tacked on two free throws.
For the second time in the game, Butler drew a foul on a three-point attempt, converting two of the three. Buffalo made a layup for a 55-41 score at the under-12 break.
Coming out of the timeout, Thomas got a runner to fall, breaking up two Buffalo free throws for a 57-43 tally.
Exacte drew a foul on a made layup, producing an old-fashioned three-point play before a Buffalo bucket. Thomas hit another three for the Falcons, but the Bulls answered with a three of their own. Felt added a layup for the Falcons, pushing the score to 65-48 at the under-8 media break.
Butler made a free throw after the timeout, but Buffalo knocked down a three to chip away at the lead. Thomas pulled up for a jumper near the elbow to keep the back-and-forth going. A dunk for Buffalo answered and then a free throw for Butler.
Johnson went to the line for the Orange and Brown, making two at the stripe to push him above 20 points, joining Thomas in the accomplishment. The two points pushed the score to 71-53 at the final media timeout of regulation.
Buffalo added a dunk followed by two Butler free throws. The Bulls then hit a three with Green then going to the line, making one. The next time down it was Butler that was sent to the line, making two for a 76-58 score.
Green added another BGSU free throw, but Buffalo answered with a triple. Felt cleaned the glass for the Falcons, slamming home a second-chance attempt off a rebound, leading to the 79-61 BGSU victory.

STAT LEADERS

Trey Thomas: 22 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
Marcus Johnson: 21 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Derrick Butler: 13 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Jamai Felt: 9 points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks, 1 assist
Wilguens Jr. Exacte: 6 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assists, 1 steal
Braelon Green: 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist
Javontae Campbell: 2 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist

FALCON STAT FACTS

As a team, the Falcons went 27-of-36 at the free throw line, setting a new season-high for free throws made in a game.
Entering the night needing three points to eclipse 1,000 for his collegiate career, Trey Thomas posted a team-high 22 points for the Falcons, including three three-pointers. The game matches Thomas' season-high, which he set last Tuesday against Western Michigan.
Marcus Johnson followed Thomas with a 20-point game of his own, finishing with 21. Like Thomas, Johnson hit three three-pointers for the Falcons, marking his team-leading sixth 20-point game of the season. Johnson added a season-high and team-leading nine rebounds and also led the team in assists with three.
With Thomas and Johnson both logging 20 points in the game, the Falcons have now had two 20-point scorers in the same game three times this season with a different combination each time. On Nov. 23, Derrick Butler and Javontae Campbell each posted 21. On Dec. 14, Campbell tallied 27 and Johnson totaled 22.
Jamai Felt filled the stat sheet for the Falcons, finishing with nine points, seven rebounds and four blocks, matching his career-high. Felt now has 21 blocks on the season with 14 of those coming in the last eight games including two games with four during MAC play.
Butler totaled 13 points for the Falcons, including going 10-of-13 at the free throw line. Butler is the first Falcon to make 10 or more free throws in a game since Javontae Campbell went 10-for-12 against New Mexico State earlier this season.
Campbell added two more steals to his season tally, now up to 52 through 16 games. Campbell needs 61 to enter the Top 10 in program history for a single-season with the record set at 82 by DeMar Moore in 1996-97.
The win gives BGSU consecutive wins over Buffalo for the first time since the 2020-21 season and the first set of consecutive home wins over the Bulls since the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.
With the win, Bowling Green is back up to .500 in MAC play with a 2-2 record while also being 5-3 when playing at the Stroh Center this season.
The Falcons remain undefeated when playing on Tuesdays this season, holding a 3-0 record.

UP NEXT
The Falcons will remain at home for their next contest, hosting Eastern Michigan on Saturday (Jan. 18) with a 2 p.m. tip. The game will be Alumni Day and the Bill Frack Game for Bowling Green.

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