MUNCIE, Ind. — The Bowling Green State University men’s basketball team found its shooting touch in the second half on Tuesday at Ball State, riding strong shooting to an 81-72 victory in front of 3,488 fans at Worthen Arena.
The Falcons (15-6, 6-3 Mid-American Conference) hit 16 of 26 shots (61.5 percent) in the second half, including 4 of 7 (57 percent) from 3-point range. BGSU also was strong at the free-throw line after halftime, making 12 of 16 attempts (75 percent).
Ball State, meanwhile, made only 11 of 25 shots (44 percent) after halftime. For the game, Bowling Green hit 29 of 56 (51.8 percent) from the field, while Ball State (11-10, 3-6) made just 24 of 52 (46.2 percent). Bowling Green also outrebounded Ball State 33-26 and had eight steals to the Cardinals’ two.
"I thought our resilience was good in the second half,” Bowling Green coach Todd Simon said. “When we needed stops, we were able to find them. I thought our guys were a little more locked in, especially when the runs started to come."
Leading 33-31 at halftime, Bowling Green went on a 7-0 run to start the second half. Ball State closed Bowling Green’s lead to one at the midpoint of the second half, but a 9-0 run that included a jumper and a 3-pointer by Marcus Hill, as well as a Trey Thomas 3-pointer and a Rashaun Agee free throw, gave the Falcons a double-digit advantage for the first time at 62-52 with 7:28 to go.
Ball State came no closer than four points the rest of the way.
Hill finished with a game-high 28 points. Jason Spurgin scored 17, while Agee had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Basheer Jihad led Ball State with 22 points. Mickey Pearson, Jr., had 15, Trent Middleton, Jr., scored 14, and Davion Bailey had 11.
The victory gives Bowling Green sole possession of fourth place in the MAC for the moment, one game behind third-place Central Michigan and two games in back of first-place Toledo and Akron. Ball State is tied with Kent State for the eighth and final conference tournament slot with a little more than a month left to go in the regular season.
Bowling Green hosts Central Michigan at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Stroh Center.
First Published January 31, 2024, 3:56 a.m.
