KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team came up short on the road against Kansas City on Saturday (Dec. 14) in an 85-77 final. The Falcons went to halftime trailing by just one, 46-45, staying within one up until 57-56. However, a 10-0 second half run for the Roos created space, maintaining the difference to the final. For Bowling Green, Javontae Campbell led the way with 27 points and five steals while Marcus Johnson tallied 22 points. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Falcons won the opening tip to begin the game with Marcus Johnson getting the scoring started with a turnaround jumper. Kansas City answered with a three. 
• A layup from Javontae Campbell resumed the scoring for Bowling Green, but the Roos responded with a layup of their own for a 5-4 score early.
• Both Johnson and Campbell added another basket each, but Kansas City scores kept the game back-and-forth with KC maintaining their advantage on the scoreboard, 11-8.
• Campbell added his third basket of the game for an 11-10 tally, but a three for KC pushed their lead to multiple possessions, 14-10.
• A pair of free throws from Campbell cut the lead down to 14-12. Trey Thomas added a layup, his first points of the game, to tie the score at 14-14. A jumper for the Roos broke the tie at the under-12 media timeout with a 16-14 tally.
• Out of the break, Campbell added a layup to tie it at 16-16, but an 8-0 Kansas City run swung the score to the Roos, 24-16.
• Campbell broke the run with a pair of layups separated by a KC bucket, but a three for Kansas City made it a 30-20 score
• Campbell hit the first BGSU three of the game that was answered by one of the same from Kansas City. A layup from Campbell and two Johnson free throws cut the score down to 33-27.
• Kansas City hit a jumper, but two free throws from Wilguens Jr. Exacte matched the tally to make it 35-29.
• Derrick Butler joined the scoring with a three for the Falcons followed by another from Thomas to cut into the score. A floater from Johnson matched a KC bucket for a 42-37 score.
• The Johnson jumper started a 7-0 run for the Falcons. A pull up from Thomas and a three from Braelon Green tied the game at 42-42.
• A layup from Kansas City broke the tie, but Exacte hit a three to put the Orange and Brown in front, 45-44.
• A bucket for the Roos gave them a 46-45 advantage at the halftime break.
• Campbell opened the BGSU scoring in the second half with a pair of layups, but they were surrounded by seven Kansas City points for a 53-49 score.
• The Roos got a jumper to fall before a Johnson free throw added to the BGSU score. Kansas City followed with another jumper followed with Johnson hitting a three and then a jumper for a 5-0 run on his own, pulling the Falcons within one at 57-56.
• A 6-1 burst for Kansas City pushed their lead to 63-57 with BGSU's lone point being a Campbell free throw. 
• The two teams went back-and-forth with Butler getting a layup to go and Felt slamming home a dunk for a 65-61 score.
• Back-to-back threes started a 10-0 run for Kansas City, stretching their lead to 75-61 with just under seven minutes left. Johnson ended the run with a layup.
• Kansas City and Johnson traded hook shots followed by two free throws for the Roos. Butler recorded an and-one for a 79-68 score.
• Butler added a step back and Campbell hit a layup, but two KC free throws between made it an 81-73 tally.
• The next five points in the game came at the free throw line with Campbell hitting BGSU's. Johnson added a jumper for the 85-77 final.

STAT LEADERS

• Javontae Campbell: 27 points, 5 steals, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
• Marcus Johnson: 22 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
• Derrick Butler: 11 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist
• Trey Thomas: 7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals

FALCON STAT FACTS

• Javontae Campbell led the Falcons in scoring with 27, logging his third game this season with 20 points or more.
• Campbell added a team-high five steals in the game, giving him 32 on the season through just 10 games. He is already more than halfway to cracking the Top 10 all-time for single-season steals in program history. 
• Marcus Johnson joined Campbell in the 20-point category, finishing with 22 for his team-leading fourth 20-point game of the season.
• With Campbell and Johnson both logging 20 points it marks the second time this season BGSU has had two 20-point scorers in the same game. Campbell and Derrick Butler each had 21 against Bellarmine.
• Butler added 11 points in the game for the Falcons, including two threes. Butler's five rebounds also led the team, his first time doing so this season.
• Trey Thomas added seven points for the Falcons while tying for the team lead in assists with two. Thomas logged a season-high four rebounds as well. 
• Jamai Felt tallied two blocks for the Falcons, his fourth game this season with multiple blocks. Felt now has nine blocks on the year, tied for the team lead. 
• This is just the first loss in the month of December for the Falcons during the Simon Era, now with a 6-1 record. 

UP NEXT
Bowling Green will return home to the Stroh Center for their next three games, two of which will be in the month of December. The Falcons will first host St. Thomas on Dec. 21 before taking on Aquinas College on Dec. 23.  

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