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Falcons Come Up Short To Bobcats In Offensive Battle

Ziggyville Population: 260
Tue, Feb 11, 2025

Ziggyville Population: 260
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team went back-and-forth with the Ohio Bobcats in a tight game Tuesday night (Feb. 11). Bowling Green and Ohio matched up for an offensive outing, combining for 167 points, including a combined 46-for-59 at the free throw line. In total, the game saw seven lead changes and nine ties. In the end, the Bobcats came out with an 86-81 final. 

Bowling Green jumped out to a 10-2 lead, but Ohio worked to tie it up at 13-13. From there, neither team built a lead bigger than six in the first half. The Falcons worked to tie it at 29-29, taking a 34-32 advantage to the halftime break following a Marcus Johnson corner three at the buzzer. Johnson's three helped create an 8-0 BGSU run across the half, going up 39-32. Bowling Green built their lead to the largest of the game, up 48-38 with 15:29 left. Ohio battled back, tying the game again, this time at 54-54. The two teams traded the lead as far as a 74-74 tie with 2:14 left on the clock, but a 7-0 Ohio run pushed the Bobcats in front for the eventual final. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • The Falcons won the opening tip with DaJion Humphrey sinking the first basket from behind the arc. Javontae Campbell followed with a layup for a quick 5-0 run. Ohio halted the run with a layup, but another 5-0 BGSU run followed with Jamai Felt slamming home a dunk and Marcus Johnson hitting a three, prompting an OU timeout.
  • The Bobcats responded out of the timeout with back-to-back threes for a 6-0 run before a Johnson hook shot made it a 12-8 BGSU lead at the under-16 timeout.
  • Coming out of the timeout, Ohio made two free throws before Trey Thomas hit one for the Falcons. A three for the Bobcats knotted the score at 13-13. The run for Ohio extended to 7-1 for a 15-13 lead. Braelon Green added a BGSU free throw to make it a one-point game, 15-14, at the under-12 timeout.
  • Following the timeout, Ohio added a dunk to their advantage as well as two free throws. Thomas ended the burst with a runner before Johnson converted two at the line, cutting the lead down to one, 19-18. Ohio went on 5-0 spurt to push their lead back to 24-18 at the under-8 break.
  • The first points after the stoppage came via free throw from Thomas for the Falcons. Derrick Butler followed with a layup, cutting the score down to a possession, 24-21. The two teams traded layups with Humphrey making BGSU's. Another Bobcat layup pushed the tally to 28-23 at the final media timeout of the half. 
  • Jamai Felt added a free throw after the break followed by a Butler corner three. Another Butler bucket, this time a jumper, pushed BGSU in front 29-28. Ohio used two free throws to reclaim the lead, but a Johnson jumper swung the score back to the Orange and Brown. Two more free throws for Ohio continued the swing, but a corner buzzer three for Johnson sent the teams to the locker room with Bowling Green up 34-32.
  • The second half started with free throws, seeing Felt hit two at the line. Johnson followed with a three for a 5-0 BGSU burst to start the half. The run ended with an Ohio layup, starting a sequence of three layups with BGSU's coming from Felt. Ohio added a layup with a foul for a 41-37 score.
  • Exacte made a layup off a Green inbound followed by a Humphrey three for a 5-0 BGSU burst. Ohio sank a free throw for a 46-38 tally at the first media timeout of the second half.
  • Coming out of the timeout, Butler made a layup for the Falcons before an OU three. The same sequence followed with Johnson making the Bowling Green bucket for a 50-44 tally.
  • Ohio made a jumper, but two at the line for Butler answered the score. The Bobcats hit two more at the line with Butler answering again for a 54-48 score at the under-12 break.
  • The next three points for Ohio came at the line plus an and-one for a 6-0 run, tying the score at 54-54. The run reached 8-0 for Ohio, making six of them at the line, for a 56-54 lead. Johnson ended the run at the line himself, making two for a 56-56 tie.
  • Ohio worked for a layup followed by a Campbell free throw for a 58-57 Bobcat advantage at the under-8 media timeout. After the timeout, the Bobcats added two more at the line. Campbell drove through the lane for a layup and made a free throw the next trip down, tying the score at 60-60.
  • Ohio pushed in front with a jumper, but Campbell weaved his way through the defense for a layup, matching the points. OU converted one at the line to reclaim the lead followed by a layup for a 65-62 score.
  • For Bowling Green, Johnson found Felt underneath for a slam, but Ohio responded with a three. Butler worked through traffic for an and-one ahead of the final media timeout in regulation with a 68-66 score. 
  • Butler missed the free throw, but Humphrey hauled in the rebound and drew a foul in the process, making one at the line. OU and BGSU traded layups with Campbell making Bowling Green's. Ohio added another layup, but a Butler three tied the game at 72-72.
  • The back-and-forth continued with an OU shot followed by a Johnson jumper. Ohio hit a three and called timeout with a 77-74 advantage and 1:47 left on the clock.
  • After the stoppage, Ohio made six at the line down the stretch, increasing their lead to 83-74. Campbell added a three for the Falcons, but Ohio made two at the line for an 85-78 score.
  • Thomas hit a three for the Falcons, closing the gap to 85-81 with a BGSU timeout. Ohio added another at the line for the 86-81 score.

STAT LEADERS

FALCON STAT FACTS

  • Javontae Campbell tallied two steals early in the game, bringing his season total to 72. Campbell is now tied for fourth all-time on the program's single-season steals list, matching the total of Anthony Stacey (1996-97) and David Jenkins (1981-82). 
  • Jamai Felt recorded his team-leading fourth double-double of the season, finishing with 10 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. It also marks the seventh time this season that Felt has had double-digit rebounds in a game. Felt now has double-doubles in back-to-back games, the first Falcon to do so since Rashaun Agee had five in a row last season. 
  • Marcus Johnson registered a team-high 21 points in the game, his team-leading 10th 20-point game of the season. Johnson added a team-high five assists, matching his season-high. 
  • Derrick Butler continued his strong stretch of performances off the bench. After scoring 21 against Coastal Carolina, Butler added 18 for the Falcons in the game, including a pair of threes. 
  • DaJion Humphrey matched his season-high for points in a game with 11. Humphrey now has 980 points in his collegiate career, closing in on 1,000. Humphrey added a season-high four rebounds as well. 

QUOTE FROM COACH SIMON
"Ohio is very good, obviously the preseason favorite to win the league. I thought we did a really nice job defending in the first half. We did a good job competing, we did enough on the offensive end for the game. Obviously, we have to figure out how to keep our guys out of foul trouble and keep them off the line in the second half."

UP NEXT
The Falcons will hit the road for a single contest before coming back home to the Stroh Center. Bowling Green will head to Buffalo for a Saturday (Feb. 15) game against the Bulls with a 2 p.m. tip. From there, the Falcons will be back home on Feb. 18 to host Kent State for Star Wars Night.

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