MUNCIE, Ind. — Bowling Green State University senior guard Justin Turner became the first player in program history to score 2,000 points in the Falcons' 75-62 win at Ball State on Tuesday night.
Turner, who had a game-high 27 points, became the 17th player in Mid-American Conference history to reach 2,000 points with his first bucket of the game.
Bowling Green (12-9 overall, 7-7 MAC) trailed 35-34 at the half, but the Falcons then outscored Ball State 41-27 in the second at Worthen Arena.
BG freshman Kaden Metheny, who entered the game averaging 8.9 points per game, had a season-high 21 points.
Senior forward Daeqwon Plowden, who was named the MAC player of the week on Monday after averaging 18.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game last week, had 11 points and four blocks.
Fresh off snapping a six-game losing streak, the Falcons avenged an 88-64 loss to Ball State at the Stroh Center on Jan. 12
The Falcons hit just 15 of 38 from the floor (39.5 percent) in the first half.
Metheny helped the Falcons grab a 45-40 lead early in the second half as he had made 3 of 5 from 3-point range at that point.
The Falcons opened up their biggest lead at 62-54 with 5:46 left in the game, extended that cushion to 12 points with 5:15 to go, and to 16 points with 4:03 remaining.
“We did a real good job defensively,” BG coach Michael Huger said. “We did a real good job sharing the ball. We did a good job knocking down shots.
“It was so much fun, especially after what we went through with the six-game losing streak and to now put together two in a row.
Turner, who entered the game leading the MAC in total points with 403, became the school’s all-time leading scorer on Feb. 3 — breaking a record that stood for 21 years and was previously held by Anthony Stacey.
“2,025 points. I think he's coming back for another year after this. He wants 4,000,” Huger said, laughing.
Huger earned his 100th career victory, joining Harold Anderson (362), Jim Larranaga (170), Dan Dakich (156), Paul Landis (156), John Weinert (146), and Louis Orr (101).
“It's always great to have that stuff. But I don't think about that,” Huger said. “It was fun celebrating with the guys.”
Huger is the first BGSU graduate to earn 100 wins as the men’s basketball coach.
Huger emphasized before the game that his team needed to focus on the defensive end. His Falcons forced 23 turnovers with 12 in the second half, utilizing a three-quarter court trap.
“We wanted to use that more to slow down their offense,” Huger said. “They ran it real well against us last time. We were waiting for them to get to a certain spot and we were trapping them. It worked really well for us.”
BG was coming off an 88-81 road win over rival Toledo on Saturday as the Falcons handed UT its first home loss of the season. The Falcons also ended a six-game skid, and have now solidified its chances of making the MAC tournament with a second straight win.
Ball State (7-10, 5-7 MAC) had four games postponed over the past five games, and had only played three times in the past 24 days. K.J. Walton, Jarron Coleman, and Ishmael El-Amin each had 11 points for Ball State. Walton had eight rebounds.
Caleb Fields had a game-high and career-high 10 rebounds for Bowling Green, while Trey Diggs had five rebounds.
Metheny made 4 of 9 shots from 3-point range (44 percent).
“He's been playing much better lately and shooting the ball extremely well,” Huger said.
The Falcons finished with nine steals, including three by Turner. BG, which turned the ball over only 11 times, forced five turnovers over the first five minutes to take an 11-9 lead.
BG, which is 6-2 in road league games, next plays at Akron on Feb. 26.
First Published February 17, 2021, 2:18 a.m.
