OXFORD, Ohio — There’s no questioning the ability of Bowling Green State University’s men’s basketball team to compete with the best of the best in the Mid-American Conference.
But as many positives as there have been for the Falcons from facing teams like Akron and Miami (Ohio), the losses continue to pile up.
BGSU’s 84-76 loss on the road to a red-hot Miami squad on Tuesday at Millett Hall was another heartbreaker in which the Falcons (7-11, 2-4 MAC) had a chance to come up with a season-changing victory over a team like the RedHawks (14-4, 6-0 MAC, eight straight wins). Getting over the hump has been something BGSU hasn’t been able to do this year — at least on a consistent basis — and it has resulted in a tough start not only in league play, but overall.
“You’re right there, and that’s a really good team obviously. They’ve got the 10th-longest win streak in the country right now and they’re 6-0, and it’s always a hard place to play,” BGSU coach Todd Simon said. “To be down three with some really, really tired looking guys at the end there, we had that fight with 30 seconds left and just couldn’t quite get over the hump.”
The second season for Simon at BGSU has been filled with challenges, mostly due to injuries. Although the Falcons had senior guard DaJion Humphrey return against the RedHawks after missing most of the season, veteran forward Sam Towns and Youssef Khayat — one of 10 newcomers to the team who was expected to play a key role this season — are still sidelined with injuries.
The first 18 games of the 2024-25 campaign have been drastically different record-wise for BGSU. At this point of the 2023-24 season, BGSU was 14-4 overall and 5-1 in the MAC.
Each of the Falcons’ first five league victories last season were by single digits. This year, BGSU is 1-3 in MAC games decided by 10 points or fewer, including a 71-68 home loss to MAC unbeaten Akron.
“We really went probably six, seven weeks without really practicing very hard, and I think that’s been the biggest difference when you’re going 3-on-3, 4-on-4 in practice and not getting up and down because you’re worrying about legs, you’re worrying about those injuries,” Simon said. “Even with what we have now, Javontae [Campbell’s] playing 31 minutes with a hand injury and you’re asking him to do really, really hard stuff because he’s so tough.
“So you’re almost in a conservation mode because if you lose any more pieces, now you’re really, really in trouble. So it’s almost a helpless feeling as a coach because you’re way more conservative than we need to be.”
BGSU led Miami for nearly 14 minutes and found a second wind in turning a 13-point deficit with 5:48 remaining to one with 2:30 left. The Falcons’ starters, who each played at least 30 minutes, helped the team nearly pull off the upset at a place where the RedHawks (8-1 at home) have thrived.
“We’re a hungry team. We really want this, we know we can go all the way,” said BGSU freshman forward Jamai Felt, who had 15 points and six rebounds. “So it’s just about getting over that hump.
“Everybody was productive today, all the starters had double digits [scoring], so it was really helpful. It’s just getting over the hump.”
Having Humphrey, a key piece to last year’s squad that won 20 games, back on the court could be a spark the Falcons need as they continue a brutal stretch that includes Toledo at home on Friday and Kent State on the road on Tuesday. Among the other positives from the loss to the RedHawks included 18 assists on 25 field goals (four on 20 field goals in Saturday’s loss to Eastern Michigan) and 48.1 percent shooting (25 of 52), including 50 percent shooting (10 of 20) from 3-point range.
The next step is not only getting a win, but stringing together some momentum to get in position to make the MAC tournament.
“Right now, we’ve just got to get over that hump,” Simon said. “I think that’s the story of our season right now.”
First Published January 22, 2025, 3:42 a.m.
