BOWLING GREEN — A late foul against Bowling Green State University helped Western Michigan take a one-point lead with 3.1 seconds left, and the Broncos held on to edge the Falcons 64-63 in a Mid-American Conference men’s basketball game on Friday at the Stroh Center.
Western Michigan (12-19, 9-9 MAC) qualified for next week’s league tournament with the win. BGSU fell to 14-17 and finished 8-10 in the league, but the Falcons still clinched a spot in next week’s tournament since Ball State and Central Michigan lost on Friday.
Ball State fell to Miami 79-66, while Central Michigan lost to Northern Illinois 83-81 in double overtime.
BGSU’s Javontae Campbell scored four straight points to tie the game at 63 with 16.8 seconds left. The Falcons appeared to get a stop in the final seconds with solid defense on a drive to the basket from Western Michigan’s Chansey Willis, Jr., but a foul was called on BGSU’s Derrick Butler.
Willis made the first free throw and missed the second. BGSU’s Jamai Felt grabbed the defensive rebound, and the Falcons called timeout with 2.8 seconds remaining.
Marcus Johnson’s inbounds pass from the baseline found DaJion Humphrey near halfcourt. Humphrey got a good look at a 3-point attempt, but it was off the mark.
Butler and Johnson both finished with a game-high 20 points for the Falcons, while Humphrey chipped in 10 points. Campbell, who averaged 23 points in his previous six games, was held to six points with seven assists and six turnovers.
JaVaughn Hannah had 18 points and Owen Lobsinger 17 with seven rebounds off the bench for Western Michigan. Willis had 12 points and five assists.
STATS TO KNOW
Western Michigan had a 21-6 advantage in points off turnovers, including 19-4 in the first half when the Falcons committed 10 turnovers. The Broncos led 33-32 at the break.
QUOTABLE
“Wow. The emotional swings of the last half an hour of what we felt like was a must-win game where it just comes down to the wire, a call you don’t really love and it just doesn’t go our way, and not sure that your season’s going to move on. And then living and dying watching a Northern Illinois team you have to credit. ... The joy from the group was a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun, the guys deserved that.”
UP NEXT
BGSU will be the No. 8 seed and face No. 1 Akron in the MAC tournament quarterfinals on Thursday at Rocket Arena in Cleveland.
First Published March 8, 2025, 2:29 a.m.
