The Bowling Green State University men’s basketball team claimed an 88-68 victory over Eastern Michigan at the Stroh Center Tuesday night to tally the program’s eighth straight win over EMU, a record for the all-time series.
The win moves BGSU coach Michael Huger to 10-1 against the Eagles as it keeps the Falcons’ MAC Tournament hopes alive heading into the regular season finale on Friday at Ohio.
The win for the Falcons snapped a nine-game losing streak and completed the season sweep over Eastern Michigan.
The first half saw the Falcons and Eagles go back-and-forth. Rashaun Agee led the way at the halfway points with 11 points and four rebounds, the start of his first double-double as a Falcons, finishing with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Samari Curtis took over in the second half, scoring all 25 of his points after the halftime break. In the second half, Curtis went a perfect 7-of-7 from the field and was 9-of-10 at the free throw line, becoming the first Falcon this season with 20-plus points in a half.
However, it was on the other side of the ball where the Falcons excelled most.
“We were consistent on the defensive end,” Huger said. “We played extremely hard on defense, we competed. That gave us the victory, straight to defense. I give all the credit to the defense.”
An early 5-0 run pushed Eastern Michigan ahead 6-2 at the first media timeout, despite two early blocks by Ubongabasi Etim.
The EMU run stretched to 7-0 with an 8-2 lead. The Falcons worked to close the gap to a one-point game at the next media break with the score at 19-18 EMU. BGSU put together a 5-0 burst out of the timeout for a 21-19 lead.
Eastern Michigan came back to reclaim their lead with a 5-0 run to move in front 28-27 at the under-4 media timeout of the first half.
The Falcons utilized a 6-0 run late in the second half to take back the lead at 33-28, heading into halftime up 35-31.
The two teams traded buckets for the first five minutes of the second half before a 6-0 run for Bowling Green stretched the BGSU lead to double-digits, leading 58-46 with just over 12 minutes remaining in the game.
Another 5-0 run for the Falcons increased the advantage to 66-50, forcing a timeout from the Eastern Michigan bench.
A 14-3 stretch in favor of Bowling Green pushed the BGSU lead beyond 20, holding a 78-57 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the game.
A late 8-0 run cemented the win for the Falcons, increasing the lead for the BGSU to 88-62, holding on for an 88-68 final.
As a team, BGSU logged 17 assists marking the 15th time this season with 15 or more assists in a game. The Falcons have now had double-digit assists in five straight games.
With a team-high five assists, Curtis pushed his season total to 118 assists on the season, the most assists in a single-season by a Falcon since Ismail Ali had 117 in 2016-17. Ali had 130 in 2015-16, setting the next mark for Curtis to aim for.
Hitting one three in the game, Kaden Metheny added his name to the BGSU record book, tying Trey Diggs for 10th on the all-time three-pointers made in a single-season list at 66. Next on the list is Brian Moten with 69.
Etim made his fifth start of the season and played a season-high 13 minutes. Entering with just one block this season, Etim logged a career-high two before the game was four-minutes old. Etim also ended with four points, matching his career-high.
The Falcons will close out the regular season on Saturday (March 3) with a trip to Athens, Ohio, facing the Ohio Bobcats for an 8 p.m. tip on CBS Sports Network.
