Falcons Fall By Narrowest Of Margins In Saturday’s Battle Of I-75 At Savage Arena

Saturday, January 24

Toledo, Ohio

5 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

13-7,4-4MAC

Toledo

11-9,5-3MAC

Bowling Green

Toledo

Photo by: Drake Harlett, BGSU Athletics

Falcons Fall By Narrowest Of Margins In Saturday’s Battle Of I-75 At Savage Arena

January 24, 2026 | Men's Basketball

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Campbell Posts 29 Points, Eight Assists For Orange And Brown

By: by Kyle Edmond, BGSU Athletics

TOLEDO, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team took the rival Toledo Rockets down to the wire for the second-straight meeting between the two, both happening inside Savage Arena. The back-and-forth game saw 13 lead changes on top of 10 ties, but it came down to a three-pointer from Toledo with 8.2 seconds remaining to spell the difference. Only one point separated the teams at halftime and they played an even second half to the 73-72 final score. The loss moves BGSU to 13-7 on the season while being 4-4 within the Mid-American Conference ahead of Tuesday's (Jan. 27) home game against Buffalo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Falcons won the opening tip with Javontae Campbell tallying the first points of the game with two points. The back-and-forth started from there. Troy Glover II threw down two massive dunks while Mayar Wol drilled a three, but Toledo answered each time for a 9-8 BGSU lead at the first media timeout.
Toledo responded out of the break with a 7-0 run, five coming after the timeout, to move in front 13-9. Josiah Shackelford broke the run with a layup, a goaltending call making it a good basket. Campbell added a layup to make the score 15-13 at the under-12 media break. After the stoppage, Shackelford went to the line, making two for a 15-15 tie.
The back-and-forth continued from there. A quick find from Campbell to Shackelford converted a layup followed by a layup for Campbell and a mid-range jumper from Shackelford. Sam Towns joined the scoring with a pair for a 23-23 tie at the under-8 media timeout.
Out of the break, Camden Karel made one at the line before Towns threw down a two-handed slam and then Campbell followed with a one-handed dunk for a 7-0 run across the timeout and a 28-23 lead. Toledo ended the run, but Campbell matched the points with two at the line. A layup from Campbell forced a Toledo timeout with a 32-25 lead. Toledo worked for a pair of threes to reclaim the lead, 33-32, to force a timeout from the Bowling Green bench that doubled as the under-4 media timeout.
Campbell and Towns worked for back-to-back layups to put the Falcons back up before the back-and-forth resumed. Wol got a floater to fall, but Toledo worked back in front with a 39-38 score that held to the halftime whistle.
Javon Ruffin started the second half with a three, but Toledo responded in the same fashion. The Falcons kept it going with a jumper from Wol and a Towns coast-to-coast layup. Wol later added a layup, but Toledo managed for a 47-46 lead at the first media timeout of the second half.
Toledo worked for a 7-0 run that pushed their lead to 52-46. Glover ended the run, catching an alley-oop off a Shackelford lob and restarting the back-and-forth. Campbell continued BGSU's points with a layup before a Ruffin three for a 56-53 score at the under-12 media timeout.
Toledo added two at the line, but a corner three from Towns cut the score back to a possession. A transition layup from Campbell knotted it up, 58-58. Campbell worked for another layup to put the Falcons in front, but Toledo matched for a 60-60 score at the under-8 media break.
Out of the break, Glover made one at the line. The Falcons worked for the rebound on the second, resulting in a Campbell three. Campbell hit another the next time down for a 7-0 BGSU run and 67-60 lead before the next UT bucket. Campbell kept it going with a driving layup, forcing a Toledo timeout with a 69-62 Bowling Green advantage. Glover sank a hook shot before the next stoppage, but Toledo worked to close the gap to 71-67 at the under-4 media timeout.
Campbell added one at the line after the break. A three for Toledo cut the lead back to a possession, 72-70. Toledo hit a transition three for a 73-72 score with 8.2 seconds remaining, but the score held to the final.

STAT LEADERS

Javontae Campbell: 29 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals
Sam Towns: 11 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Troy Glover II: 9 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block
Josiah Shackelford: 8 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist
Mayar Wol: 8 points, 5 rebounds

FALCON STAT FACTS

Javontae Campbell swiped three steals for the Falcons, bringing his season total to 67 and his BGSU career total to 157. Campbell is now up to seventh on the single-season list, jumping up from 10th entering the game. As for career, Campbell passed Zack Denny (2013-17) for ninth all-time.
Campbell led the team in scoring as well as assists. He finished with 29 points and eight assists, marking his team-leading eighth 20-point game of the season. He's also now led the team in assists in seven straight contests. Campbell added a pair of threes, giving him six over the last four games.
Sam Towns led the way in rebounding for the Falcons with eight boards to go along with 11 points, joining Campbell in the double-digit scoring feat.
Despite first half foul trouble, Troy Glover II worked for nine points, six rebounds and the lone block for the Falcons in the game. He now has nine rejections over the last three contests as well as at least one in six consecutive games.

QUOTE FROM COACH SIMON
"A good college basketball game. Obviously, we're disappointed we didn't come out in the winning column, but nonetheless a game that is a lot of what is right about college basketball. Obviously, we gave away too many possessions, 16 turnovers is really hard to win a game. The way we scored, the way we kept their shooting percentage down, did all those things. The only way you lose that game is giving up possessions and we did far too many. 16 turnovers isn't going to win you too many games on the road."

UP NEXT
BGSU will return home on Tuesday (Jan. 27) for their next contest with a 7 p.m. start against Buffalo inside the Stroh Center. The game will be Medical Professionals Night.

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