Falcons Fall In Final Seconds To UMKC To Open Bill Frack Tournament

Saturday, November 19

Bowling Green, OH

4:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

0-3

UMKC

2-1

UMKC

Bowling Green

Photo by: Larry Clapper

Falcons Fall In Final Seconds To UMKC To Open Bill Frack Tournament

November 19, 2016 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: by Matt Daley, BGSU Athletic Communications

Video: Coach Huger Post-Game Press Conference
Audio: Todd Walker With Coach Huger
Final Statistics: NCAA Box/Play-By-Play | HTML

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Martez Harrison scored with 2.2 seconds left to complete a rally by the University of Missouri at Kansas City, as the Kangaroos defeated the Bowling Green State University men's basketball team 71-69 on Saturday night at the Stroh Center. Antwon Lillard led the Falcons' scoring effort with 19 points.

Bowling Green won the opening tip and put up the game's first points when Wes Alcegaire sank a three from the top of the key. That helped the Falcons get hot from long range early. Lillard began his night with a pair of threes that gave BGSU an 11-5 advantage just 3:09 into the game.

The Kangaroos took the lead for the first time with 12:44 to go in the first half on a Harrison triple, which capped a 9-0 run.

The UMKC lead was limited to just five minutes, as the Falcons stormed back with a 9-0 run of their own to grab a 25-20 advantage. Denny scored six points in the stretch, including a pair of layups that brought the crowd alive.

The two teams traded baskets for the remainder of the first half, as the score bounced between a tie and a four-point lead for the Falcons. Dylan Frye's pair of free throws in the final half-minute of the opening frame gave BGSU a 37-35 halftime lead.

Lillard led all scorers with ten points at the break, but Denny was key with eight points and five rebounds. Those five helped BGSU earn a 24-14 edge on the boards, including nine on the offensive end. The Falcons also restricted UMKC's ability to capitalize on mistakes, as they scored just two points off 12 BGSU turnovers.

Lillard increased his scoring total with a three-point play to open the second half, and that keyed a 6-0 start to the final 20 minutes for the Falcons. The short run gave BGSU an eight-point lead, its biggest of the night, and they carried a 47-39 edge into the first media timeout of the half.

UMKC's LaVell Boyd sank a three after the timeout to cut the Falcons' lead to five, and the Kangaroos scored four more to drop the lead to one. BGSU responded with four straight; however, UMKC did the same, and midway through the second, the lead stood at just 51-50.

Rasheed Worrell and Alcegaire each had thunderous dunks to give Bowling Green three-point leads as the second half progressed, and Matt Fox's triple with 4:24 to play put the Falcons up 65-61.

UMKC followed with eight of the next ten points and earned a 69-67 edge with 94 seconds remaining. Ismail Ali tied the game with a layup, but on the next possession, Broderick Robinson pulled down a key offensive rebound after a Boyd miss. That gave UMKC a chance for the final shot, and Harrison nailed a floater with only 2.2 seconds on the clock.

Following a Falcons' timeout, Rasheed Worrell caught a full-court inbound pass and put up a fadeaway jumper, but it fell harmlessly off the rim.

Lillard's 19 points led the Falcons, while Zack Denny posted a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Demajeo Wiggins added eight rebounds, six of which came on the offensive end. As a team, the Falcons shot 39.3 percent and were 16-of-23 from the free throw line. They outrebounded UMKC 47-33 and had a 32-30 scoring advantage in the paint.

Harrison (23) and Boyd (19) led UMKC in scoring. The Kangaroos made 42.6 percent of their shots and dropped eight three-pointers.

Bowling Green drops to 0-3 on the season and will continue the Bill Frack Tournament at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 20 when they host the Green Bay Phoenix.