MUNCIE, Ind. - The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team traveled to Muncie, Ind. on Saturday (Jan. 11) to take on the Ball State Cardinals. A first half Ball State run pushed the Cardinals in front at the halftime break. In the second half, the Falcons worked to narrow the gap, drawing within seven, but the Cardinals rebuilt their lead for the 91-69 final. For the Falcons, all seven players that saw the floor scored at least six points in the game, including four with double-digit totals. The Falcons will now return home for three of their next four games. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Ball State took the opening tip. After a couple empty possessions for both teams, the Cardinals posted the first points of the game. The opening run for BSU stretched to 4-0 with a second basket.
• The first Falcon points of the game came off a layup from Jamai Felt in the paint. The Cardinals added another bucket, but Felt answered with two at the line to stay within two, 6-4.
• Wilguens Jr. Exacte subbed in and proceeded to hit a corner three, putting the Falcons in front. Ball State added two before the first media timeout for an 8-7 Cardinal lead.
• Coming out of the break, Braelon Green weaved his way through the defense for two after subbing in. The back-and-forth continued with a second-chance Ball State bucket. The Cardinals stretched their run to 6-0 for a 14-9 advantage at the under-12 media break.
• The run for Ball State carried through the timeout, reaching 9-0 with a 17-9 score. Javontae Campbell ended the run with a tip-in layup and the foul for a three-point play.
• Ball State answered BGSU's three-point play with a triple of their own. A layup for the Cardinals sent the teams to the under-8 timeout with a 22-12 Cardinal lead.
• The run for Ball State extended to 9-0, making it an 18-3 stretch and 26-12 Cardinal lead. Marcus Johnson ended the run with a hook shot. Ball State followed with another 5-0 burst, forcing a BGSU timeout with the score at 31-14.
• Out of the timeout, Exacte knocked down his second three of the game, but Ball State answered with one of their own. The Cardinals added a free throw before a Johnson fadeaway jumper went to the BGSU tally. A three from Trey Thomas continued to chip away for the Falcons, but an and-one for Ball State matched the points. 
• The back-and-forth continued with Butler getting a coast-to-coast layup, but Ball State answered with a 4-0 burst. Campbell added a BGSU score before the half for a 42-26 score.
• A pair of Ball State free throws tallied the first points of the second half. Johnson hit a three at the top of the key for the first BGSU points of the half.
• Two Ball State buckets were interrupted by a Butler triple for the Falcons. Campbell continued the back-and-forth with a layup followed by another Cardinal jumper for a 50-34 score at the first media break of the half.
• Out of the timeout, Green added a free throw for BGSU and Felt converted a second-chance and-one. Ball State made a layup, but a three from Butler for the Falcons cut the lead down to 52-41 with a Cardinal timeout.
• Coming out of the break,the two teams traded three consecutive and-one opportunities with Green converting Bowling Green's. The run of and-ones ended with a traditional three from Exacte.
• Campbell got out in traffic and made a layup, pairing with Exacte's three for a 5-0 BGSU burst going into the under-12 media timeout with the lead down to 58-49.
• Ball State made a layup, but Campbell sank one of his own. Exacte made one at the line before Ball State and Campbell traded layups for a 62-54 score at the under-8 timeout.
• The Cardinals added a layup after the break. Felt followed for the Falcons with two at the line. Johnson put another two on the board before a Ball State three.
• Johnson got a layup to go but the Cardinals responded with a 12-0 run to push the lead to 79-60 with the Falcons taking a timeout.
• The run carried through the timeout for Ball State, reaching 15-0 with an 82-60 score. The stretch ended with an Exacte free throw.
• Ball State tallied a layup followed by a tip-in layup for Thomas, prompting another BGSU timeout.
• Out of the timeout, the Cardinals converted one free throw followed by a triple by Thomas and BGSU's final timeout.
• Ball State made a layup and two free throws before Exacte went to the line for the Orange and Brown. Thomas added a layup to cut the score down, but a dunk for Ball State matched the points for the 91-69 final.

STAT LEADERS

• Javontae Campbell: 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist
• Wilguens Jr. Exacte: 12 points, 5 rebounds
• Marcus Johnson: 11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block
• Trey Thomas: 10 points, 3 rebounds
• Jamai Felt: 9 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block
• Derrick Butler: 8 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal
• Braelon Green: 6 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal

FALCON STAT FACTS

• Wilguens Jr. Exacte tallied a season-high 12 points for Bowling Green, matching his career-high and becoming the 10th different Falcon this season to log double-digit points in a game. Exacte hit a career-high three three-pointers in the game. 
• Trey Thomas scored 10 points for the Orange and Brown, bringing his career total to 997, sitting just three shy of the 1,000-career point mark. 
• Javontae Campbell led the Falcons in scoring with 13 points to go along with another two steals, pushing his season total to 50 through 15 games. 
• Marcus Johnson filled the stat sheet for the Falcons with 11 points, a team-high six rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. The block was the first of the season for Johnson, making it his first as a Falcon. 
• Braelon Green topped the assist column for Bowling Green, registering four in the game. He added four rebounds to his stat line, all on the defensive end for a new career-high in defensive rebounds.

UP NEXT
Bowling Green will be back at home for their two games as well as three of their next four. The homestand will begin on Tuesday (Jan. 14) with a 7 p.m. tip against Buffalo inside the Stroh Center. It will continue on Saturday (Jan. 18) with a 2 p.m. start against Eastern Michigan. 

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