BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team opened the MAC slate of the 2024-25 schedule Friday night (Jan. 3) at the Stroh Center and on national TV. Hosting Akron in the MAC opener on CBS Sports Network, the Falcons took the reigning MAC Champions down to the wire, leading for over 36 minutes of game time. However, a late surge by the Zips pushed Akron ahead in the final minute to claim a close 71-68 final. 

For the Falcons, Trey Thomas led the team with 19 points, being one of four players on the roster with double-digit scoring outputs. Derrick Butler (15), Marcus Johnson (14) and Javontae Campbell (11) joined. Jamai Felt led the team in rebounds with 10 while Wilguens Jr. Exacte added nine, leading to a season-high 50 as a team.  

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Coming off his own steal, Javontae Campbell drew a foul and made a free throw for the first point of the game. Derrick Butler followed with a long two-pointer before Jamai Felt added two at the line.
• Campbell forced another turnover on the defensive end with Trey Thomas getting a layup to go. Marcus Johnson added a three to make it a 10-0 BGSU run off the jump, forcing an Akron timeout in the early going.
• After the break, Akron made a layup to stop the run, but a three from Thomas made it a 13-2 BGSU advantage at the first media timeout of the game. 
• Campbell converted two free throws for the first points out of the break. Akron made a layup, but Butler quickly answered with one of his own for a 17-4 score.
• Back-to-back threes for the Zips began a 6-0 run to cut into the lead with a 17-10 score at the under-12 break.
• Coming out of the timeout, Akron added a jumper to their run for an 8-0 stretch and 17-12 score. A Butler free throw for BGSU ended the burst.
• Following the free throw, the Zips resumed their run with two jumpers, bringing the stretch to 12-1 with an 18-16 score and a BGSU timeout turned media break.
• The Falcons started a run of their own after the called timeout. Thomas got a runner to fall and followed it with a three next time down that danced on the rim before falling. The two shots made it a 5-0 Thomas run and 23-16 BGSU advantage.
• Akron stopped the burst with a triple, but Braelon Green scored his first points of the game with a driving layup. Two Zip threes followed to tie the game at 25-25 going into the final media timeout of the first half.
• Thomas again went on a burst of his own, hitting a pull-up jumper and a three. On the defensive end, Felt swatted away his second block of the game, keeping the score at 30-25 BGSU.
• The two teams began trading buckets with Butler getting a layup for Bowling Green between Akron free throws and a three, sending teams to the half with a 32-30 Falcon lead.
• Felt started the second half scoring with a tip-in layup, but an Akron answer followed. Campbell then went coast-to-coast for the old-fashioned three-point play with an and-one, bringing the score to 37-32.
• Akron cut the lead back down to one possession with a layup. A Johnson three extended the BGSU lead before both teams added free throws ahead of the first media timeout for a 42-36 score.
• After the timeout, Butler hit a three from the corner with Akron following with two at the line. The back-and-forth continued with a Johnson jumper for BGSU and an Akron three for a 47-41 score.
• Each team hit two free throws with BGSU's coming from Butler. A three-ball from Thomas in the corner pushed the lead to 52-43 Falcons with Akron calling timeout.
• Akron connected on a three and then a fastbreak dunk for a 5-1 burst with a Campbell free throw between, cutting into the lead 53-48. Another make at the line for Bowling Green, this time from Felt, added one to the BGSU tally.
• The two teams traded points in the paint, Johnson making BGSU's, leading up to the under-8 media break for a 56-52 score at the stoppage.
• Coming out of the break, Butler hit a three for the Falcons. The run continued with two at the line for Campbell, but Akron answered with a 5-0 run of their own to erase the burst with the score at 61-57.
• Wilguens Jr. Exacte ended the Akron burst with a slam off a Campbell feed. Akron responded with a bucket to stay within four, 63-59 at the final media timeout of regulation.
• Akron hit a three to pull within one, but a Johnson layup kept the Falcons in front. Another Zip triple tied the score at 65-65.
• Akron moved in front with another three, moving out to a 68-65 advantage with 1:02 on the clock, prompting a BGSU timeout.
• A free throw for Thomas cut into the score, but a layup on the other end made it 70-66. A Johnson tip-in brought the score back to one possession at 70-68.
• With six seconds left on the clock, Akron made one at the line for the 71-68 final.

STAT LEADERS

• Trey Thomas: 19 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists
• Derrick Butler: 15 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assists, 2 blocks
• Marcus Johnson: 14 points, 6 rebounds
• Javontae Campbell: 11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals
• Jamai Felt: 5 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks
• Wilguens Jr. Exacte: 2 points, 9 rebounds

FALCON STAT FACTS

• As a team, the Falcons hauled in a season-high 50 rebounds after having 49 in the non-conference finale against Aquinas. Additionally, BGSU recorded 17 rebounds on the offensive end after logging 19 against Aquinas. 
• The 50 rebounds for the Orange and Brown are the most since the Falcons had 51 against Central Michigan during the MAC Tournament on March 14, 2024.
• Trey Thomas put together season-highs across the stat sheet. Beginning with a season-high 37 minutes of action, Thomas logged a season-high 19 points and a season-high three steals. He also matched his season-high for rebounds with four, all coming on the defensive end. 
• For the second time this season, Derrick Butler played all 40 minutes for BGSU. Butler ended the game with 15 points and five rebounds while matching his career-high with two blocks. 
• Marcus Johnson added 14 points for the Falcons as well as six rebounds, including a season-high three offensive boards. 
• Javontae Campbell also recorded a new season-high in minutes played with 38, finishing with 11 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals for a full stat line.
• Jamai Felt led Bowling Green in rebounds with 10, including a career-high six on the offensive end. This marks the third double-digit rebounding game for Felt this season. He added two blocks to his stat line, his fifth game this season with multiple blocks. 
• For the second-straight game, Wilguens Jr. Exacte tallied a career-high in rebounds, this time bringing down nine defensive rebounds. 

UP NEXT
The Falcons will hit the road for their first away conference game of the season. Bowling Green will head to Kalamazoo, Mich. for a Tuesday (Jan. 7) matchup with Western Michigan. BGSU and WMU are scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip.  

Follow the Falcons
Be sure to follow the Falcons' men's basketball team on social media
Twitter - @BGSU_Athletics and @BGSUMBB
Instagram - 'bgfalcons' and 'bgsumhoops'
Facebook - 'BGSU Athletics'
YouTube - 'Falcon Athletics'