BOWLING GREEN — Bowling Green State University’s effort and energy helped the Falcons erase a 20-point deficit on Tuesday. But a slow start against Ball State was too much to overcome.

After falling behind 40-20 late in the first half, BGSU tied the game at 56-56 with seven minutes left. The Falcons had several opportunities to take control down the stretch, but couldn’t grab the lead as the Cardinals won 69-60 in a Mid-American Conference men’s basketball game at the Stroh Center.

“Very difficult when you come out and don’t compete from the start,” BGSU coach Michael Huger said. “That was the biggest thing, we didn’t compete to start the game, and they took advantage of it.

“We made some adjustments in the second half, but when you get down by so much just because you’re not competing and not understanding how tough they are and how tough they can be, once you get down, you’ve got to fight back and fight back.”

The Falcons dropped their second consecutive game to fall to 10-12 (4-5 MAC). Ball State notched its second win in a row to improve to 15-7 (6-3 MAC).

BGSU’s 60 points were the second lowest in a game this season. The Falcons scored 57 points in a loss to Southern Indiana on Nov. 26.

BGSU fell behind 14-2 just four minutes in, trailed 36-17 with 4:46 left in the first half, and faced a 20-point deficit with 1:59 remaining when Ball State’s Jalen Windham scored on a drive to the basket. The Cardinals shot a blistering 57.7 percent (15 of 26) in the first half, while BGSU shot just 34.5 percent (10 of 29).

BGSU finished the final minute of the first half on a 6-0 run, including a pull-up jumper at the buzzer from Kaden Metheny, and carried that momentum into the second half.

The Falcons pulled with 41-37 with 15:44 left on a drive to the basket from Leon Ayers III. BGSU’s Chandler Turner hit a long jumper to make it 51-48 Ball State with 10:05 left, and Brenton Mills drained a corner 3-pointer shortly after to cut the deficit to 55-53.

Metheny’s deep 3-pointer off Ayers’ pass tied it at 56-56 with 7:19 left. The Falcons’ defense created numerous scoring opportunities down the stretch, but BGSU never snatched the lead.

Rashaun Agee, who slammed five dunks in Saturday’s loss at Toledo, missed his second dunk of the game on Tuesday with 3:17 left and the Falcons trailing by four. A pair of 3-pointers from BGSU were off the mark on back-to-back possessions, and Ball State went 8 of 12 from the free-throw line in the final five minutes to maintain the lead.

“We still had more than enough opportunities to take advantage of it at the end,” Huger said. “Missed free throws, missed layups, missed dunks, you name it, missed calls by the referees, everything. So when all of that stuff goes against you and you don’t execute, especially down the stretch, [it’s tough]. “... We just didn’t execute the way we should have at the end.”

Ayers finished with 14 points, while Turner added 13 points and six rebounds. Agee tallied 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Jarron Coleman’s game-high 19 points fronted Ball State. Jaylin Sellers added 11 points, and Payton Sparks had five points with a game-high 10 rebounds.

“From the beginning, we were lacking energy and intensity, and they came in gunning from the beginning,” Turner said. “That led us to having a big hole, and we can’t keep having to bring it up in the middle of the game. We have to start games better.”

BGSU was playing without Samari Curtis, the team’s second leading scorer at 12.1 points per game. Huger said he “tweaked something in practice” and found out shortly before the game that he wasn’t going to be able to play.

The Falcons will return to action at 5 p.m. Saturday at home vs. Northern Illinois.

First Published February 1, 2023, 3:19 a.m.