BOWLING GREEN — Bowling Green overcame a 14-point deficit, a shaky defensive start, and a potentially costly foul with three-tenths of a second remaining to win its first Mid-American Conference game, a 78-76 victory Tuesday against Miami at the Stroh Center.
The Falcons trailed for more than 28 minutes before slugging its way back into the game and holding on late after nine ties and seven lead changes in the second half.
What happened: Unfortunately for Bowling Green, its second MAC game was a continuation of its first.
Kent State barraged the Falcons in the second half of Friday’s loss, and Miami started the game with an even stronger push that had Bowling Green reeling by the midway point of the first half on Tuesday.
The RedHawks buried 9 of 13 attempts from behind the arc in the first 14 minutes of the game, and despite the Falcons shooting exactly 50 percent from the field during the same stretch, Miami led by as many as 14 points.
Miami’s bench outscored Bowling Green’s bench 22-2 in the opening 20 minutes, and the RedHawks took a 45-36 lead into halftime.
Bowling Green finally changed its tune in the second, but it took a brutal defensive possession to spark the Falcons. BG gave Miami five chances to score on one trip down the court, miscommunicating off a missed free throw and letting the ball go out of bounds, losing a second easy rebound out of bounds, and surrendering three offensive rebounds before Miami scored to go up 52-40.
A visibly upset Huger called timeout to reset the Falcons, after which BG finally came alive. The Falcons hit back with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to four, and tied the game minutes later with Dylan Frye’s 3-pointer, setting up a back-and-forth final 11 minutes of regulation.
“Our intensity changed,” Falcons center Tayler Mattos said. “We knew their shots weren’t going to hit all night, and we just had to turn up on the defensive end and get some stops.”
The RedHawks shot just 22 percent in the second half as the Falcons made their move. Trailing 74-71 late, Turner made two free-throws, followed by a defensive stop and a put-back by Caleb Fields to take the lead.
With Miami in need of a field goal, Fields blocked Nike Sibande, after which Frye made two free throws with four seconds to go. However, Fields fouled Miami’s Mekhi Lairy behind the three-point line, sending him to the stripe with a chance to send the game to overtime.
Lairy missed the first, though, sealing the BG win.
“We had to show what we were made of, and we were tough down the stretch,” Huger said. “We got the stops that we needed. We were able to score when we needed to. I still think we can play much better defense.”
Game MVP: Mattos was a difference-maker inside for the Falcons, converting 6 of 8 fields goals, making 5 of 6 free throws, and finishing with a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds.
He said it: “Last year, as you know, we were picked last and no one really expected us to have the season that we did. This year, they picked us first, so we are the hunted. Everyone is going to try and get us, and evveryone’s going to give us their best shot. We’ve just got to weather the storm, and that’s what we did tonight.” - Fields
Make a note of it: Miami shot 9 of 15 from 3-point range in the first half. The RedHawks averaged 9 triples per game coming into Tuesday’s matchup. … The Falcons have not lost back-to-back home games since March, 2018. BG is 7-1 at home this season.
Looking ahead: Bowling Green travels for its first MAC road game, a Saturday visit to Ohio. The Falcons have lost their past three visits to the Convocation Center. The Bobcats are 1-1 in the MAC after defeating Eastern Michigan on Tuesday.
First Published January 8, 2020, 3:17 a.m.
