BUFFALO — The positive growth process continues for Bowling Green’s men’s basketball team.
The Falcons didn’t let little things like missed free throws, turnovers or Buffalo’s last-second magic
deter them Saturday night.
Bowling Green’s Danny McElroy scored inside with 24 seconds remaining in the second overtime to put the
Falcons ahead 73-71. Scott Thomas then split a pair of free throws and the Falcons held on for the 74-71
win. The win was the Falcons’ fourth in a row and second consecutive road win. It was also the
Mid-American Conference opener for both teams and the first time BG won its MAC road opener since the
2001-02 season.
“I feel over the last five games that each player has just developed a sense of urgency to contribute to
the team and to make the team better,” said BG’s A’uston Calhoun. “Over these last five games everybody
has gotten better individually which in turn helps us to get better as a team.
“That makes us feel a little bit more comfortable. We go out there with a little more confidence each and
every game that we play, and you can sense that.”
Buffalo led by as many as eight points in the first half and took a 36-30 lead into the break.
Bowling Green went on a 10-2 run to open the second half. The two teams then traded the lead for much of
the rest of regulation.
BG’s Jordon Crawford scored on a layup with 1:24 left to put the Falcons on top 59-56. Buffalo’s Javon
McCrea scored inside with 41 seconds left to cut the deficit to one and Luke Kraus made 1-of-2
free-throws to put Bowling Green up by two. Jawaan Alston was fouled with three seconds left and he made
both charity shots to send the game to overtime.
In the first overtime session, Calhoun completed a three-point play that gave the Falcons the lead.
Bowling Green’s lead was pushed to four on a Cameron Black layup but Buffalo rallied and tied the game
on a Mitchell Watt layup with two seconds to go that sent the game to a second overtime.
In the second overtime Byron Mulkey knocked down a jumper with 3:54 to play to give Buffalo a 71-69 lead.
Kraus had a steal and layup to tie it at 71-71 with 2:35 to play and it would remain that way until
McElroy scored inside with 24 seconds left.
Buffalo worked for a shot to tie the game but Watt missed from close range and Thomas grabbed the rebound
and was fouled. He made 1-of-2 free-throws with four seconds left and Mulkey’s long-distance effort to
tie the game did not fall.
Calhoun ended with a game-high 20 points and came up one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards.
Thomas had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, making 8-of-12 shots. He added three assists,
two steals and a blocked shot while playing 46 minutes. McElroy had 13 points. Black finished with seven
points and a career-best 11 rebounds.
“The more he plays, he’s getting a better feel for what he has to do to be successful,” BG head coach
Louis Orr said about Calhoun, who was 9-of-20 from the field. “He’s really been stepping up his game in
a lot of areas.”
Bowling Green shot over 50 percent from the floor for the fourth consecutive game, finishing at 51.7
percent.
“We’ve been doing a good job sharing the ball the last six games. We’ve been making the game easier for
each other,” Orr said. “Against Buffalo you had to make the extra pass because they are such a great
help team.”
Buffalo, which entered the game as the MAC’s best shooting team, finished at just 39.4 percent and that
included a strong 57.7 percent in the first half. Over the final 30 minutes, Buffalo made just 13-of-45
(28.9 percent) shots.
“Our defense has really picked up the last three games. Our goal is always to hold a team under 40
percent from the field,” Orr said. “We picked it up in the second half.”
Buffalo also entered the game as the top rebounding team in the MAC but Bowling Green controlled the
boards, 46-37. The Falcons also dominated in the paint with a 50-34 scoring advantage and had 11 steals.
If not for a poor night at the free-throw line, Bowling Green went 11-of-24 (45.8 percent), the Falcons
might have put Buffalo away in regulation.
“You have to give Bowling Green credit, they won the basketball game,” Buffalo head coach Reggie
Witherspoon said. “But we missed point-blank shots at the basket and in a game like this, you can’t give
those away. We missed a ton of shots that were point blank.”
NOTES: BG is now 6-9 overall while Buffalo is 8-5 … 50 of BG’s 74 points came in the paint against
Buffalo … Buffalo’s Mulkey played the entire 50 minutes … BG plays at Kent State Tuesday with tipoff
at 7 p.m.
BOWLING GREEN 74, BUFFALO 71, 2OT
BOWLING GREEN (6-9)
Thomas 8-12 2-5 19, McElroy 6-9 1-4 13, Black 3-7 1-2 7,
Jakubowski 0-1 0-0 0, Brown 1-3 0-0 2, Crawford 3-6 3-4 9,
Kraus 1-2 1-2 3, Erger 0-0 0-0 0, Calhoun 9-20 2-3 20,
Oglesby 0-0 1-4 1. Totals 31-60 11-24 74.
BUFFALO (8-5)
Watt 4-12 0-0 8, Barnett 1-3 0-0 2, Clifford 1-1 0-0 2,
Mulkey 4-16 2-4 11, Filzen 4-15 0-0 12, Watson II 3-6 0-0 9,
Oldham 0-0 0-0 0, McCrea 9-11 0-0 18, Robinson 1-2 2-2 4,
Alston 1-5 3-4 5. Totals 28-71 7-10 71.
Halftime—Buffalo 36-30. End Of Regulation—Tied 60. End Of 1st
Overtime—Tied 69. 3-Point Goals—Bowling Green 1-5 (Thomas 1-2, Crawford
0-1, Jakubowski 0-1, Calhoun 0-1), Buffalo 8-25 (Filzen 4-14, Watson II
3-5, Mulkey 1-6). Fouled Out—McCrea, Watt. Rebounds—Bowling Green 46
(Black, Thomas 11), Buffalo 37 (Watt 12). Assists—Bowling Green 15
(Crawford 4), Buffalo 20 (Mulkey 9). Total Fouls—Bowling Green 15,
Buffalo 20. A—1,761.
