Falcon Bench Sparks 68-63 Win Over EMU

Saturday, January 29

Bowling Green, Ohio

3 pm

Bowling Green State University

Eastern Michigan

January 29, 2011 | Men's Basketball

By: by Jason Knavel, Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications

Boxscore
Jordon Crawford/Mike Dabney Postgame Audio
Louis Orr Postgame Audio
Photo Gallery

Bowling Green, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University bench scored 42 of the team's 68 points as the Falcons kept pace atop the Mid-American Conference standings with a 68-63 win over Eastern Michigan Saturday.

Three Bowling Green starters played 10 minutes or less but the Falcons' bench came up big. Off the bench, Jordon Crawford had 14 points, seven assists and four rebounds, while Dee Brown scored 11 in 36 minutes. Danny McElroy scored six points and tied a career-high with 11 rebounds, while Mike Dabney had a career game with seven points, four rebounds and three blocked shots in 15 minutes.

Eastern Michigan jumped out to a quick 12-2 lead before Head Coach Louis Orr dipped into his reserves for help. The Falcons quickly went on a 15-5 run to tie the score and eventually took the lead on a pair of A'uston Calhoun free-throws with 1:17 to go. Scott Thomas added two free-throws with nine seconds left in the period to put Bowling Green on top 34-31.

The Falcons led despite the fact that Eastern Michigan made 7-of-10 three-pointers in the first 20 minutes and held a 16-12 rebounding edge. Bowling Green build the lead by shooting 50 percent from the floor and making 6-of-7 free-throws in the stanza. The Falcons also did a solid job on the Eagles' top player Brandon Bowdry, holding him to six points on 2-of-9 shooting.

But in the second half, Bowdry was almost unstoppable, posting 18 points and 10 rebounds in the final 20 minutes on 6-of-9 shooting. With both of Bowling Green's starting post players, Calhoun and Torian Oglesby, in foul trouble, Orr searched deep on his bench for Dabney, who had not played in a MAC game all year.

Dabney responded with a career high seven points and three blocks, tying his career best with four rebounds, in 15 minutes. He was effective offensively inside and also was a factor on the defensive side, blocking and altering shots.

His energy helped Bowling Green keep Eastern Michigan at bay. Antonio Green knocked down a three-pointer to bring the Eagles within three at 38-35 but Dabney scored inside and was fouled, completing a traditional three-point play.

Later, Eastern Michigan scored seven in a row to briefly take a 46-45 lead with 12:36 to go, but Thomas knocked down a jumper and Brown hit a pair of free-throws to make it 49-46. The Falcons would never trail again.

Bowling Green extended the lead to eight with four minutes to play and led by nine with 34 seconds left before Eastern Michigan scored five consecutive points to cut the final deficit to five.

The Falcons shot 51 percent from the field for the game and held Eastern Michigan to 2-for-12 from three-point range in the second half. Bowling Green also turned around the rebounding numbers, ending with a 34-32 advantage. The Falcons scored 26 points in the paint, 10 more than the Eagles.

Eastern Michigan falls to 5-15 overall and 2-5 in MAC play as Bowling Green improves to 10-11 overall and 5-2 in league action. At 5-2, the Falcons remains in a tie atop the MAC East standings with Buffalo. Kent State sits at 4-2 and Miami lost Saturday to fall to 4-3. In the West Division, Ball State lost to drop to 5-2, meaning Bowling Green is now tied for the overall MAC lead.

The Falcons will hit the road to play at Northern Illinois Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST.