There are 364 men’s college basketball teams in Division I.
None of them have endured more injuries this season than Bowling Green.
Nor have they experienced more joy than the Falcons did Friday in Toledo.
On a night for the rivalry books, a Bowling Green team with a big heart and a little bench — a team so short on bodies it has at times practiced 3-on-3 — left Savage Arena with a 69-68 win after a finish as thrilling as it was fitting.
Know who scored the game winner with 1.6 seconds left?
Naturally, it was junior guard Javontae Campbell.
No matter that he hasn’t gone through a live practice since Jan. 6 — the day before he broke his shooting hand in a game at Western Michigan.
He has kept going, just like the Falcons, and on Friday, the junior college transfer from Oklahoma came off the bench to pour in a game-high 23 points, including the two that for the visitors turned defeat into victory and the rafter-rattling roars of a crowd of 6,837 into sweet silence.
His third-chance layup was just what the doctor ordered, along with another X-ray.
You should have heard the Bowling Green locker room afterward. The electricity in there could have powered the entire building.
“Quite honestly, a lot of folks would just pack in at this point,” BG coach Todd Simon said. “A lot of guys would say, ‘You know what, the season hasn't gone our way. We've taken one hit after another. I'll play for myself. I'll just try to get my points.’
“We don't have any of that, and that just makes it extra sweet that they just keep believing.”
Good for them.
Say what you will about a Toledo team that’s lost three of its past four games — these Rockets (16-11, 9-5) are … complicated — but this was as gutty of a performance as it gets.
Bowling Green (11-16, 5-9) sputtered in on fumes — two games out of eighth place — and riding a string of less luck than a snowman in a sauna.
As if it weren’t enough the Falcons had already lost two starters to season-ending injuries (Sam Towns and Youssef Khayat), star guard Trey Thomas broke his leg against Kent State earlier in the week, leaving the visitors with seven rotation players.
And just six who are able to practice.
“This has been the craziest thing I’ve ever been a part of,” Simon said. “Nine of our scholarship guys have missed games this season.”
And yet …
In a way, the oddsmakers (see: Toledo -7.5) and a couple of the orange-clad fans I talked to before the game were right.
For Bowling Green, the night was not pretty. It was beautiful.
Let there be no doubt, the Falcons came to play.
They splashed in six first-half 3s to open a 41-37 lead and kept coming, their zone defense keeping the affair close — Toledo shot 37.5 percent from the field — and Derrick Butler and Campbell doing the rest.
The two stars played more than 76 minutes between them and traded roles at intermission. Butler scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half, then ceded the lead to Campbell, who with one fearless and knifing basket after another had 17 of his 23 points in the second.
So much for protecting that wrapped-up right hand.
“Honestly, during the game, it feels the same as my left hand,” Campbell said. “It's good.”
Again, just like the Falcons, who answered every Toledo basket on a night that featured 14 lead changes and six ties, until, finally, after Sam Lewis made one of two free throws to push the hosts ahead with 20 seconds left and Campbell punctuated the dramatic final flurry, silence fell over the stunned arena.
“There's nothing better than seeing the fans leaving upset,” Butler said. “It's a really good feeling.”
To say nothing of a final reminder why you play the games.
It’s because of teams like these Falcons, a group that on Friday proved as tough as they are resilient.
“A great night for BG,” Simon said. “I’m really proud of our guys, and their fight. They've done everything right. We've practiced 3-on-3, we've practiced with managers and coaches playing. It’s just a hard situation, and we’re trying to do the best we can with what we have.
“But the attitude and effort has been off the charts. It’s good to see the guys rewarded for that.”
First Published February 22, 2025, 4:22 a.m.
