DEKALB, Ill. — Bowling Green State University’s men’s basketball team still has a chance to make it to Cleveland for next week’s Mid-American Conference tournament.
The Falcons led Northern Illinois nearly the entire game and finished strong to upend the Huskies 71-58 on Tuesday at the Convocation Center.
BGSU notched its fourth straight win and seventh in the past nine games to improve to 14-16 (8-9 MAC). The Falcons also won their fourth straight contest on the road.
BGSU moved into a tie for seventh place in the MAC with the help of Ball State’s 69-67 loss to Central Michigan and Western Michigan’s 77-76 defeat to Kent State on Tuesday. The Cardinals were outscored by the Chippewas 47-28 in the second half in their loss.
The Falcons can earn a trip to the league tournament with a win over Western Michigan (8-9) on Friday night at the Stroh Center or a Miami home win over Ball State (7-10) along with a Northern Illinois win over Central Michigan (7-10) on Friday. Ball State owns the tiebreaker over BGSU due to its win over Kent State early in MAC play, while Central Michigan owns the tiebreaker with its win over the Falcons in early February.
The top eight teams in the final MAC regular-season standings qualify for the league tournament.
Javontae Campbell led a balanced scoring attack for BGSU on Tuesday with 19 points. He also had a team-high eight rebounds with four assists and two blocks.
Marcus Johnson chipped in 17 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, while Derrick Butler tallied 14 points and seven rebounds for the Falcons. DaJion Humphrey had 11 points and five rebounds.
BGSU dominated the rebounding battle 45-30 and held Northern Illinois to just 29.8 percent shooting (17 of 57). The Falcons shot 46.9 percent (23 of 49), including 60.9 (14 of 23) in the first half in taking a 36-31 lead.
Quentin Jones’ 18 points and three steals led Northern Illinois (5-25, 1-16 MAC). James Dent, Jr., added 13 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, while Tsvet Sotirov (11 points) and Joe Munden, Jr. (10) also scored in double figures.
First Published March 5, 2025, 2:42 a.m.
