| BG’s Dee Brown (22), playing against Eastern Michigan earlier this season, had 10 points against Ohio Wednesday. (Photo: Enoch Wu/Sentinel-Tribune) |
ATHENS — Once again Bowling Green faltered in the second half, dropping a 70-60 decision to Ohio
University Wednesday.
It was the fourth straight loss and fifth defeat in the last six games for the Falcons, now 12-16 overall
and tied for fifth at 7-6 in the Mid-American Conference East.
The Falcons were up two, 43-41, with 11:53 left in the game after a 3-pointer from Jordon Crawford, but
made only two field goals in the next 11:17.
Head coach Louis Orr said having A’uston Calhoun for only 10 minutes in the game hurt BG’s offense.
Calhoun came into the game averaging 15.0 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting 47 percent from the
floor in his last 17 games. Due to foul trouble and the performance of Craig Sealey, Calhoun scored two
points before fouling out.
“We need all of our big guys to contribute in different ways,” Orr said. “We needed guys to score down
the stretch. We needed our offensive players to make shots.
“We missed A’uston’s low-post scoring.”
Mike Dabney converted a three-point play for the Falcons with 6:16 left cutting Ohio’s lead to 56-52.
The Bobcats answered with three close range shots, pushing their lead to 60-52 with 3:25 remaining.
Scott Thomas nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key for Bowling Green making it 60-55 with 2:20 left.
Ohio then made a 7-0 run before Dee Brown hit a three for the Falcons with 36 seconds left, cutting
Ohio’s lead to 67-58. However, the Falcons could get no closer.
Ohio hit seven of its first 14 shots from the field to start the game and the Falcons were down 28-17
before closing the first half on a 15-2 run to take a 32-30 lead into the break.
Sealey and Crawford came off the bench to spark the Falcons in the first half. Sealey was 4-of-4 from the
field in the opening half and led BG with eight points at the break. Crawford contributed five points
and six assists in the opening 20 minutes.
“Craig Sealey gave us a big lift on both ends of the floor … He really grew up tonight,” Orr said. “I
hope he continues to grow because he gives us a lot of energy. He’s worked very hard in practice. I was
pleased with his effort and his productivity.”
Orr was also pleased with his team’s defensive effort against the Bobcats.
“Defense has been a challenge for us over the last five or six games,” Orr said. “For us to hold Ohio to
38 percent shooting from the floor … in their gym (was good).
“Our zone was active. Our defense was active,” he continued. “But when you give up 18 offensive rebounds
that lead to 17 second-chance points, that was probably the biggest difference in the game.”
Crawford finished with 10 points and a career-high 10 assists, the first career double-double for the
sophomore, while Brown also scored 10 points.
Thomas, BG’s second-leading scorer on the season behind Calhoun, finished with nine points, seven
rebounds, four assists and two steals
NOTES: Ohio is now 15-13 overall and 7-6 in the MAC East, having won seven of its last nine games …
BG’s Luke Kraus was ejected from the game after a flagrant foul on Ohio’s Tommy Freeman with 18 seconds
remaining in the game … Freeman scored a game-high 20 points, setting the Ohio career record for
3-pointers made in the process … BG plays at Miami Saturday with tipoff at 11 a.m. in a game to be
televised on ESPNU.
OHIO 70, BOWLING GREEN 60
BOWLING GREEN (12-16)
Thomas 4-10 0-1 9, Calhoun 1-4 0-0 2, Oglesby 0-1 0-0 0,
Jakubowski 1-2 0-0 2, Brown 4-6 0-2 10, Crawford 4-9 1-1 10,
Kraus 0-4 2-2 2, Erger 0-0 0-0 0, Sealey 7-8 0-1 14, McElroy 0-4 2-2 2,
Black 1-1 0-0 2, Dabney 2-2 3-3 7. Totals 24-51 8-12 60.
OHIO (15-13)
Washington 3-11 4-9 10, Hall 2-5 1-1 5, Baltic 3-3 4-4 10,
N. Kellogg 2-7 2-2 7, Freeman 5-12 5-6 20, Cooper 1-3 6-6 9,
Adedipe 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, Keely 4-8 1-2 9, Sayles 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-52 23-30 70.
Halftime—Bowling Green 32-30. 3-Point Goals—Bowling Green 4-14
(Brown 2-3, Crawford 1-4, Thomas 1-5, Kraus 0-2), Ohio 7-17 (Freeman
5-10, Cooper 1-2, N. Kellogg 1-4, Hall 0-1). Fouled Out—Calhoun.
Rebounds—Bowling Green 25 (Thomas 7), Ohio 42 (Keely, Washington 12).
Assists—Bowling Green 15 (Crawford 10), Ohio 13 (Cooper 4). Total
Fouls—Bowling Green 26, Ohio 15. A—4,932.
