Davidson holds off Falcon MBB Rally

Bowling Green MBB fell into a hole in the first half last night and despite a much improved second half performance, was unable to close the gap and lost their home opener.

At the first media timeout it was 7-4 but in the next four minutes Davidson went on a 12-2 run, causing Coach Simon to call timeout and replace every player on the floor.  It stayed steady for 10 minutes or so but didn't get better...an 8-0 Davidson run made it a 20 point lead with 4:31 to play.  BG shaved it to 16 at the half.

Davidson shot 53% overall and 46% from 3FG for the half, while BG was 42% and 50%.  Beyond the percentages, Davidson made 7 3FGs, had 2 fewer turnovers and 5 ORebs to BG's 1.

The second half was much different. Sparked by 2 Marcus Johnson 3FGs, BG went on an 11-2 run to cut the lead to 7 less than two minutes into the half.   The game stabilized there, Davidson had the lead to 13 with 13 left to play, but BG had it back to 8 shortly thereafter.  BG made another run and cut the lead to 4 with about 10 to play, but Davidson is a good team and had it back to 9 two possessions later.

It stayed in the 6-7-8 range when Jevontae Campbell made 2 FTs, got a steal and converted a layup, taking the lead from 8-4 with 1:33 left.

It was still 4 with 1:19 left and Trey Thomas got a steal.  Here the best opportunity was presented, but BG missed the shot and Davidson scored on their next possession.  BG had one more shot, Campbell on the line, missed his 2nd FT when BG was down 3.  BG had another shot down 4 and did not score then either and it was over.  91-85 final.

All in all, far from a disaster.  Not a success either.

Game had 76 possessions, third highest D1 game in the Simon era.

BG scored 1.12 points per possession, normally a winning number.  They shot 47% from 2FG and 46% from 3FG.  Unfortunately, they allowed Davidson 1.2 points per possessions, usually a losing number. Those offensive rebounds were key--Davidson was +10 on second chance points.  They were also 23 of 28 at the line, for a +4.  BG was 19 of 25 at the line for a respectable 76%.

Individually...Jevontae Campbell.  Woof. He finished with 30 points, including scoring 15-straight BG points in the stretch run. He made 10-13 on 2FGS and 10-12 at the line for a highly efficient night, adding 4 steals and 4 turnovers. 

Marcus Johnson had 19 in 22 minutes, making 5 of 10 from 3FG. Khayat had 10 on 1 of 2 and 2 of 3 shooting.  Trey Thomas had 10 but it took 9 shots. Sam Towns had 11 rebounds and blocked 4 shots.

BG had seven players over 10 minutes.  Johnson, Towns, Khayat, Campbell and Thomas started, with Butler and Humphrey coming off the bench for more than 10 minutes, and Felt, Squire, Exacte and Green playing less than 10.  BG used 23 lineup combinations, with 10 of them out there for less than one minute.

So, the Falcons hit 0-2.  Next week is a non-D1 game against Taylor and @MSU. The next realistic chance for a D1 win is against Niagara on 11/29.