There is a reason why Bowling Green State University first-year mens basketball coach Todd Simon brought 7-foot senior Jason Spurgin with him from his previous stint at Southern Utah.

Spurgin is listed as a center, but he can play anywhere on the court, on both offense and defense.

Spurgin hit two three-point shots down the stretch to lead the Falcons to an 83-78 Mid-American Conference victory over Ohio University at the Stroh Center Tuesday. As a result, BGSU improves to 11-4 overall and 2-1 in the MAC while Ohio falls to 7-8 and 1-2.

“It’s helpful that my team trusts me to make the right play and make the right shot and have the willingness to pass it to me when I’m open,” Spurgin said.

“I just shoot it, and when it goes in, the energy in the building was awesome — every time we made a play, every time somebody got a steal, the energy was awesome in the building, so it’s fun to hit those big shots and see everybody go crazy,” Spurgin continued.

Both triples were on dishes from junior guard Marcus Hill. Spurgin knocked a trey down from the corner with 2:13 left, pushing the Falcons ahead, 77-73, and he hit another triple with 40 seconds remaining, giving BGSU an 81-75 lead.

Spurgin was 5-for-7 from the field, including 4-for-5 from downtown, plus he had four assists and blocked two shots, scoring 14 points.

Meanwhile, on defense, he’s defending and chasing 6-foot guards around the perimeter as well as anyone.

Spurgin said he learned to be more than a big man while growing up in Toowoomba, Australia.

“I wasn’t really a traditional big man growing up,” Spurgin said. “I played a lot of different sports and basketball was my one love that I fell for and laid with.

“My coach in high school never put us in position and allowed us to play freely, and then coming to play for coach Simon the last four years, he doesn’t really put you in a box — he gives you the freedom to play wherever you want.

“If you work from a skill, put the hours in and you make the shots in a game, they trust you to keep taking them,” Spurgin continued. “Without the coaches having faith in me to do those kinds of things I don’t think I’d be in the position I am today.”

However, shooting was not so much Spurgin’s forte at Southern Utah.

“That was not always his big thing, so we asked him to work on it, and when he came here his role changed in the way that we needed him,” said Simon.

“He’s really just a 7-foot, 255-pound guard — it’s really what he is because he’s cerebral, smart, sees the floor, and we’re trying to get him to be more aggressive.

“If you’re 4-for-5 (from the arc), I blame myself — he should be 8-for-10. He needs to get more shots. But he just makes the right plays and when they rotate they can pass it to the open guy.”

All five BGSU starters reached double figures in scoring for the second time this season, which has not happened since 2018.

BGSU senior guard Trey Thomas was 8-for-15 from the field in leading all scorers with 20 points, plus he had five assists and committed his only turnover in the past five games.

Hill had 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals, directing an offense that produced a season high 20 assists.

BGSU 6-8 senior forward Rashaun Agee had difficulty scoring in the paint, thanks to the defense of Ohio 6-11 senior center Gabe Wiznitzer and 6-8 junior forward A.J. Clayton, finishing on just 4-of-12 shots from the field.

But Agee found other ways to contribute, scoring 12 points, grabbing a career-high 15 rebounds, including eight on the offensive glass, making free throws after getting fouled eight times, and dishing out a career-high six assists.

The Falcons were a plus-12 in scoring when Agee was in the game. Agee said Wiznitzer and Clayton got physical with him in the paint, but he’s used to that and willing to make the adjustment.

“It’s not hard, I like a physical game,” Agee said. “It’s better for it to be a physical game than it to be touch fouls and a foul every here and there because it allows us to get going.”

In a game that matched the MAC’s top two defensive teams going in, BGSU 6-5 senior guard Da’Shawn Phillip was electric on defense, getting two steals and going 4-for-5 from the field, putting up points mostly off steals and in transition, and scoring 10 points.

Because of Phillip, the Falcons outscored the Bobcats, 16-7, in points off turnovers, and because of Agee, BGSU held a slim 34-31 advantage off the glass.

BGSU shot 49% from the field (31-for-63), including 12-for-24 from the arc, and made 9-of-13 free throws with just 10 turnovers. The 12 triples are also a season high.

But Ohio was hot, too, shooting 49% from the floor (28-for-57), including 10-for-25 from the arc (40%). The Bobcats made 12-of-18 free throws, and also committed 10 turnovers. They kept pace with the Falcons the entire game.

The Falcons led for all but two minutes, but never got that lead to over a couple possessions until the second half.

Agee scored off an offensive rebound and putback, and followed up with a three-point shot of his own on a feed from Thomas, giving the Falcons their biggest lead to that point, six points (48-42), three minutes and four seconds into the second half.

Then BGSU’s transition game took over, going on a 14-2 run and taking a 62-47 lead off consecutive baskets in the paint by Hill, the second coming off a steal by Phillip.

That put BGSU up 62-47, but over 10 minutes remained in the game, and the Bobcats responded with a 10-0 run to get back to within single digits and eventually setting up Spurgin’s triples down the stretch to seal the win.

For the Falcons, senior guard DaJion Humphrey scored five points, sophomore guard P.J. Edwards scored four points, and freshman guard Ejay Greer contributed three points.

Ohio was led by sophomore guard Elmore James’ 19 points, four rebounds and two assists and graduate guard Shareef Mitchell had 17 points, four rebounds, two assists and blocked two shots.

Ohio sophomore guard Ajay Sheldon scored 10 points, Clayton had eight points, four assists and blocked two shots, and sophomore forward Aidan Hadaway had seven points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

Sophomore forward Ike Cornish had six points and four rebounds, senior guard Jaylin Hunter had four points and three assists, Wiznitzer scored four points, and fifth-year senior guard Mile Brown had three points and two assists for the Bobcats.

Simon said his team was helped by the return of BGSU students, which helped generate energy inside the Stroh Center.

“I mean, it changes the whole environment the second half,” Simon said. “You get on a little run — and that’s how it turned into 15 points (BGSU lead). All of a sudden it gets loud.

“There were a couple of possessions where we got big steals, score and it’s loud, and then all of a sudden they turn it over again. That’s the pressure of the intensity from the student section and the crowd in general.

“It adds to the game. It adds pressure to the other team and all of a sudden every shot gets a little tighter,” Simon continued. “It’s part of what has made this a fantastic home court advantage.”