TOLEDO, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team took on the rival Toledo Rockets on the road Friday night (Feb. 21). In front of a packed Savage Arena and on national television, Javontae Campbell converted a third-chance layup with 1.6 seconds left on the clock to put the Falcons in front for the eventual 69-68 victory, taking down the Rockets. The win marks the first for the Falcons inside Savage Arena since 2021 and Campbell's last second layup is the first late game-winner for BGSU since Justin Turner against Western Kentucky in 2019.  

The Falcons and Rockets went back-and-forth through most of the game, seeing 14 lead changes and six ties. Despite the battle, Bowling Green didn't allow Toledo to build a lead larger than one point with BGSU leading for over 31 minutes of game time. For the Orange and Brown, 23 points from Campbell and 20 from Derrick Butler pushed the Falcons to the win. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Falcons won the opening tip and tallied the first points of the game with a Derrick Butler jumper. Toledo later matched the bucket with a layup to begin an early back-and-forth.
• Butler continued his strong start with a layup to put the Falcons back in front. He added one at the line for BGSU's first five points. A Toledo layup ended the Butler burst followed by a jumper for a 6-5 Rocket advantage at the first media timeout.
• Out of the timeout, Javontae Campbell got a deflection that resulted in a Butler layup. Wilguens Jr. Exacte registered a second chance basket to give the Falcons a 9-6 lead.
• Toledo hit a three to tie the game, but Butler quickly responded off an Exacte assist for his own triple. Toledo made a layup, but Campbell weaved his way through the traffic to match the bucket. Marcus Johnson hit a three the next time down for a 17-11 BGSU lead at the under-12 timeout.
• Coming out of the break, Toledo got a jumper to fall followed by a three to pull within one, 17-16. DaJion Humphrey matched the triple on the BGSU end. A layup from Butler erased the Toledo burst with a 22-16 Falcon advantage.
• Two Toledo triples were interrupted by a Jamai Felt slam, pulling the Rockets within a possession, 24-22. Another UT three pushed the Rockets in front, but Butler matched to reclaim the lead for the Falcons, 27-26 at the under-8 media timeout.
• Johnson snagged a rebound for a put back out of the break followed by a Campbell layup, stretching the lead to 31-25. Back-to-back Toledo baskets narrowed the gap to a possession again with a 31-29 score at the final media timeout of the half.
• After the timeout, a second-chance bucket for Toledo tied the game with a 6-0 run, but Johnson quickly hit a three for the Falcons to regain the lead, 34-31.
• A layup for the Rockets pulled them back within one. Humphrey got a layup to fall, but Toledo answered before a Campbell layup for a back-and-forth. Butler ended the trading of layups with a three for a 41-35 lead. Toledo added two at the line for a 41-37 halftime score.
• Toledo opened the second half with a layup, but Felt answered with an emphatic slam on the Falcon end. The back-and-forth continued with two Rocket free throws followed by a Campbell layup and a Toledo layup for a 45-43 score. 
• A three from UT pushed them in front 46-45, but Campbell quickly answered with a layup for the Falcons. The trading of buckets continued with a Toledo layup for a 48-47 Rocket advantage at the first media timeout of the half.
• Johnson drew a put back foul, making two at the line for the Falcons to swing the score back to BGSU. Humphrey later hit a three followed by a Campbell layup for a 7-0 BGSU burst to push ahead 54-48.
• Toledo ended the run with a layup and a dunk, but another Campbell layup answered. The Rockets hit a corner three to draw within one, 56-55, at the under-12 media timeout.
• The Toledo run reached 7-0 after the break, moving in front 57-56. Campbell ended the run with a three for a 59-57 Bowling Green lead at the under-8 timeout.
• Out of the break, Toledo made two free throws to tie the game before adding another at the line for a 60-59 lead. Campbell reclaimed the lead for BGSU with a layup. Exacte followed with a jumper and a Butler layup for a 6-0 BGSU run and 65-60 advantage, forcing a Toledo timeout.
• Toledo ended the Bowling Green run at the line, making a pair, but Campbell responded with two for the Falcons at the line as well. The free throw battle forged on with two more at the line for the Rockets. 
• A three for Toledo tied the game at 67-67 with two-and-a-half minutes left to play. With 21.6 seconds on the clock, the Rockets made one free throw for a 68-67 score.
• Working for multiple chances with offensive rebounds, Campbell found a lane off an Exacte pass, sinking a layup for the Falcons to put BGSU in front 69-68 for the win. 

STAT LEADERS

• Javontae Campbell: 23 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
• Derrick Butler: 20 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
• Marcus Johnson: 10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal
• DaJion Humphrey: 8 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist
• Wilguens Jr. Exacte: 4 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block

FALCON STAT FACTS

• Javontae Campbell's late layup to win came with just over a second left in the game. It marks the first BGSU late game-winner since Justin Turner hit a floater with 3.8 seconds left to beat Western Kentucky on Nov. 22, 2019. 
• The win marks the first for the Falcons inside Savage Arena since Feb. 13, 2021 when BGSU registered an 88-81 win over Toledo. 
• For the second straight game, the Falcons had two 20-point scorers with Campbell logging 23 and Derrick Butler scoring 20. Campbell now has six 20-point games this year while Butler has four. 
• Campbell's team-leading 23 points came off the bench, his first time off the bench this season. He's also now led BGSU in scoring in three straight games, all with at least 20 points and averaging 23 points per game over the stretch. 
• Butler entered the night needing 12 points to set a new career-high for points in a season. He totaled 18 in the first half alone, finishing with 20 for 352 points this season. 
• DaJion Humphrey recorded eight points in the game, pushing him past the 1,000 mark for his collegiate career. He finished the game with 1,004 points at the collegiate level. Humphrey added a career-high seven rebounds to his stat line as well.
• Marcus Johnson went 2-for-2 at the line for the Falcons, extending his made free throw streak to 30. Johnson finished with 10 points and six rebounds. 
• Coming off the bench, Wilguens Jr. Exacte hauled in a team-high and career-high 12 rebounds for the Orange and Brown. Exacte also led the team in assists with a career-high four, scored four points and added a block to his stat line. 
• Braelon Green made his first start of the season for the Falcons, becoming the 10th different Falcon to start a game this season. 
• The win marks the first on National TV for the Falcons since beating Toledo at home last season with a 76-68 victory on ESPNU. 
• Pairing with the win at Buffalo, the Falcons now have back-to-back road wins for the first time this season and have won four of their last six. 

UP NEXT
The Falcons will remain on the road for their next contest, heading up to Ypsilanti, Mich. to face Eastern Michigan on Tuesday (Feb. 25) for a 6:30 p.m. start. From there, Bowling Green will return home on March 1 to host Ball State for BGSU's Senior Day. 

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