OXFORD, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team battled back-and-forth with the MAC-leading Miami (OH) RedHawks on Tuesday night (Jan. 21), nearly snapping the RedHawks' seven-game winning streak. Bowling Green and Miami exchanged 11 lead changes as well as nine ties over the course of the 40 minutes, but a late surge for Miami made the difference in the 84-76 final inside Millett Hall. Bowling Green falls to 7-11 on the season while being 2-4 within the Mid-American Conference. 

The Falcons put together a hot start, jumping out to a 7-2 lead in the early going, but Miami closed in to begin a back-and-forth battle that became the narrative of the game. The RedHawks pushed in front with a 34-27 lead, but Bowling Green worked to reclaim the advantage before the half, 40-39. The lead stretched to 47-41 for BGSU out of the halftime break with Miami trimming it down to a 49-49 tie. The momentum shifted to the RedHawks, building a 71-58 advantage with under six minutes to go. A 12-2 run for the Orange and Brown pulled the Falcons within one, 75-74, but the RedHawks held on to the lead for the final.

Bowling Green held Miami to 30.4-percent from three, including a 21.4-percent mark in the second half, after the RedHawks entered the night as the nation's sixth-best shooting team from three. The Falcons registered team-highs during MAC play for assists (18), steals (11) and three-pointers made (10). 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Falcons took the opening tip in the game with Jamai Felt winning the jump ball. Marcus Johnson hit a three for the first points of the night followed by a Miami layup for the first RedHawk points.
• Bowling Green tallied back-to-back buckets with layups from Javontae Campbell and Felt to push ahead 7-2 before the next RedHawk tally, being a layup.
• Derrick Butler joined the scoring with a layup off an inbound from Trey Thomas. Miami answered with two threes, but Campbell split them with a layup in-between for an 11-10 BGSU lead at the first media timeout.
• Out of the timeout, Miami converted a dunk to move in front followed by a mid-range jumper, creating a 7-0 run and 14-11 RedHawk lead. 
• Butler ended the run with a three to tie it up. A jumper for Miami pushed them in front temporarily, but Felt got a second-chance layup to go to tie it again. A bucket and foul for Miami swung the score's pendulum back their way with a 19-16 lead at the under-12 media break.
• Coming out of the timeout, the Falcons forced a turnover, turning into a Thomas three on the other end to knot it up. Campbell added two at the line. The next time down Felt added a layup for a 7-0 BGSU run and 23-19 lead. 
• Miami ended the run with a three followed by a layup to push back in front with a 24-23 score at the under-8 break with Felt drawing a foul to bring about the stoppage. Felt hit both at the line for a 25-24 BGSU lead.
• The back–and-forth continued with a Miami jumper, but Campbell went to the line for the Falcons, hitting both to match the Miami bucket. The RedHawks responded with an and-one and later a three for a 6-0 burst, taking a 32-27 lead. The Miami run reached 8-0 for a 34-27 score.
• Thomas ended the run with a deep triple for the Orange and Brown. Johnson hit another BGSU three the next time down to spark a 6-0 run, cutting the lead down to one, 34-33, at the final media timeout of the half. 
• After the pause, Miami added a layup, but Felt answered for the Falcons to stay within one. Campbell converted two at the line to put BGSU in front, but a Miami answer followed. Butler hit a three for the Falcons with the RedHawks adding one at the line for a 40-39 BGSU halftime lead. 
• Johnson began the second half scoring with a layup, but the back-and-forth of the first half resumed with Miami matching at the other end. For BGSU, Felt went to the line on the next trip, hitting one for a 43-41 lead. Campbell forced a steal, turning into a Butler layup. Felt added another bucket for a 5-0 BGSU burst for a 47-41 lead.
• A 4-0 burst for Miami chipped away at the lead, but a Thomas jumper stopped the brief run with Bowling Green up 49-45. Another 4-0 spurt for the RedHawks tied it up at 49-49 at the first media timeout of the half with an 8-2 Miami stretch.
• After the break, Thomas broke the tie for the Falcons at the line with a pair. Miami matched, but a Thomas three off a Felt offensive board and find pushed the Falcons back in front, 54-51.
• Miami battled back with a 5-0 burst, moving back to a 56-54 lead. Thomas hit two at the line, tying the score up before a Miami jumper made it a 58-56 RedHawk lead at the under-12 break. The RedHawk stretch reached 13-2 with a 64-56 lead, resulting in a Bowling Green timeout. The score carried to the under-8 timeout as well.
• Miami added to their run after the media timeout, extending to 18-2 with a 69-56 lead. The run ended with Johnson sending a lob to Felt for an alley-oop. The RedHawks added a basket out of a break, but Bowling Green quickly responded. Campbell got a layup to fall followed by another from Wilguens Jr. Exacte, cutting the score down to 71-62.
• Miami sank two at the line, but Butler produced a four-point play for the Falcons, bringing the score down to 73-66 at the final media timeout of regulation. Coming out of the break, Campbell made two free throws for BGSU, but Miami answered with two at the line as well. 
• Back-to-back threes from Johnson and Butler for the Orange and Brown continued to cut into the deficit, bringing it down to 75-74. The RedHawks added two and called timeout with the score at 77-74 and just over two minutes left on the clock.
• The back-and-forth resumed after the timeout. Thomas made a layup for BGSU with Miami matching on their end. After another timeout, Miami hit a three for an 82-76 lead and a BGSU timeout. Two free throws down the stretch moved the score to the 84-76 final.

STAT LEADERS

• Trey Thomas: 17 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal
• Derrick Butler: 17 points, 3 steals, 1 assist
• Jamai Felt: 15 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 steal
• Javontae Campbell: 14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 block
• Marcus Johnson: 11 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals

FALCON STAT FACTS

• For the first time this season, the Falcons had all five starters reach double-digit points. The last time was Jan. 27, 2024 against Toledo.
• Miami entered the night as the nation's sixth-best team from three, shooting 40.3-percent. In the game, the Falcons held the RedHawks to a mark of 30.4-percent from behind the arc, including a 21.4-percent clip in the second half. 
• Entering the night second in the MAC for points per game during conference play, Trey Thomas tied for the team-lead with 17 points for the Falcons, including three triples. Thomas added a career-high and team-leading seven assists as well, the most assists by a Falcon in a game this season. 
• Javontae Campbell tallied 14 points for the Falcons while adding four rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. For Campbell his three steals pushes his season total to 58, needing three more to enter the program's top 10 list for steals in a single season. Of Campbell's 14 points, eight came at the free throw line, going a perfect 8-for-8 at the stripe.
• Derrick Butler tied with Thomas for the team-lead in points with 17, hitting a team-high four threes in the game. Butler tallied three assists and matched his season-high for steals with three. 
• Jamai Felt registered a career-high 15 points for the Falcons, including a perfect 6-for-6 from the field. Felt hauled in six rebounds as well, tying for the team's top spot in the category. 
• Marcus Johnson added 11 points for BGSU while tying for the team-lead in rebounding with six. Johnson sank three triples for the Orange and Brown and added four assists and two steals to his stat line. 
• Bowling Green registered 18 assists as a team with seven different players logging at least one. The total is the most for BGSU during MAC play and the second-most this season. 
• As a team, the Falcons recorded 11 steals, the most for the Orange and Brown in a MAC game so far this year. 
• BGSU shot 50-percent from three in the game, going 10-of-20, marking the most triples by the Falcons in MAC play this year and the seventh time with double-digit threes. 
• DaJion Humphrey returned to the court for the Falcons, recording two rebounds and a steal in 12 minutes of action. 

UP NEXT
Bowling Green will return home to the Stroh Center on Friday (Jan. 24) for a nationally televised edition of the Battle of I-75. The Falcons will host the rival Rockets in a 6 p.m. tip on CBS Sports Network. 

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