BOWLING GREEN — Demajeo Wiggins is atop the scouting report for every Bowling Green opponent. On most nights, Ohio would have been thrilled to hold him scoreless.
The problem for the Bobcats: Tuesday wasn’t most nights.
Bowling Green’s supporting cast proved to be more than a safety net, racing past Ohio in the second half for an 82-63 victory at the Stroh Center.
Justin Turner scored 20 points for Bowling Green, and four other Falcons joined him in double digits. Michael Laster (15), Antwon Lillard (13), and Jeffrey Uju (10) scored 10 or more points off the bench, and starter Dylan Frye added 13 points to a well-rounded offensive night for the Falcons.
Because of the effort, Bowling Green won comfortably although Wiggins, who has 11 double-doubles this season, had a rare off night.
“You don’t think that can ever happen,” BG coach Michael Huger said of Wiggins not scoring. “You’d think, ‘Ugh, we can’t win without Demajeo playing well.’ We proved that tonight, our team can step up to a challenge. Our guys stepped up to the challenge, and that was the difference.”
VIDEO: BGSU improves to 2-0 in MAC
Bowling Green, which received fewer votes than any team in the Mid-American Conference preseason poll, is 2-0 to start league play and 10-5 overall.
The Falcons are now perfect through eight home games, and they’ve won six consecutive games, all by 10 or more points. It’s the first time that has happened since 1947-48.
Bowling Green’s reserves led the way. BG outscored Ohio 43-11 in points off the bench, a much-needed effort that showed BG is perhaps deeper than expected.
“I think it’s better than what people think,” Turner said. “I think we have the depth that, if one our starters is not playing their best, they can come in the game and bring some energy and pick it up. They’re slept on a lot, [but] they’re a big part of this team.”
The first half was full of stops and starts for both teams.
Ohio (8-6, 0-2) controlled the early minutes by hitting six of its first 11 shots attempts to take a 13-4 lead.
But Bowling Green used its reserves to more than make up the difference. The Falcons’ bench outscored the starters in the first half with 18 points — 11 of which came from Laster — a large reason BG matched Ohio’s initial run with a 26-8 response that retook the lead.
“They brought us that energy and effort that we needed on the defensive end, and that was the difference in the game. Once we did that, you saw automatically,” Huger said, snapping his fingers, “the game changed just like that. When they’re playing that way, it’s hard to take them out.”
After Ohio rallied to tie the game at 30 by halftime, the Falcons dominated the second half. Bowling Green shot 18-for-28 (64 percent) from the floor and 8-for-12 (67 percent) from behind the arc.
Huger said the Falcons have found a rotation that works. Bowling Green is on their winning streak since inserting Caleb Fields and Daeqwon Plowden into the starting lineup, then using Lillard and Uju off the bench.
“We really haven’t looked back since,” Huger said. “You just search for different pieces that fit in and once you find them, that’s what you stick with. That’s what it’s been for us.”
First Published January 9, 2019, 1:51 a.m.
