Falcons Register Second-Straight Win With Home Victory Over Coastal Carolina

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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team picked up their second consecutive win inside the Stroh Center, topping Coastal Carolina in a 67-53 final Saturday (Feb. 8). The Falcons led for over 39 minutes of the game for the second straight game on their way to the win. With the win, Bowling Green advances to 9-14 on the season while being 1-1 in this year's MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. The Falcons will wrap up their homestand on Tuesday (Feb. 11) against Ohio.

The game started with the trading of baskets to a 5-4 BGSU lead, but the Falcons put together a 26-2 run, growing the lead to 29-6 across two Coastal Carolina timeouts. The Chanticleers worked the lead down to 33-21 at the halftime break, but the Falcons opened the second half with a 7-0 run for a 40-21 score. The two teams traded runs through the second half, including a 10-0 BGSU run to a 62-39 advantage. The Chanticleers cut the deficit down to the 67-53 final over the final minutes.

Derrick Butler led the way for the Orange and Brown with 19 points, including a team-high five three-pointers. Trey Thomas added 12, all coming from behind the arc, while Jamai Felt added a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Marcus Johnson filled the stat sheet with 11 points, seven rebounds and a career-high four steals. Wilguens Jr. Exacte added a career-high four steals as well while Braelon Green matched his career-high for assists with a team-leading five.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Falcons won the opening tip with Trey Thomas sinking a three to start the scoring. Jamai Felt tallied a block on the defensive end, but Coastal Carolina later answered with a jumper for their first bucket. A dunk pushed the Chanticleers in front with a 4-3 score.
Javontae Campbell drew a foul in the paint for the Falcons, sinking both at the line to swing the score back to BGSU, 5-4, at the first media break.
Coming out of the break, the Falcons went on a 10-2 run. A fastbreak dunk for Braelon Green off a Wilguens Jr. Exacte steal started the run. Trey Thomas followed with a three before a Coastal jumper.
A layup from Felt and a three from Derrick Butler followed with Green assisting on three straight BGSU baskets. The run resulted in a Coastal Carolina timeout, counting for the under-12 break.
Out of the timeout, the Falcons kept the pressure on. Marcus Johnson banked in a fadeaway jumper followed by an Exacte post move layup. DaJion Humphrey joined the run with two at the line. Campbell added another layup, stretching the run to 20-2 with the second Chants timeout of the game.
The Falcons added a pair of threes to the run with one from Butler and another from Thomas, both off Felt assists, before the next Coastal basket. The run reached 26-2 for BGSU with a 29-8 lead at the under-8 media timeout.
The Chanticleers answered back with a 6-0 run, cutting into the lead, 29-12, at the final media timeout of the first half. After the break, Coastal added two at the line for an 8-0 run.
The run ended with Campbell dishing it to Felt for an emphatic slam, but Coastal Carolina followed with a three. Butler made a layup before two Chanticleer buckets ended the half with a 33-21 score.
The second half opened with a Felt layup off a Campbell feed. Thomas hit another three for a quick 5-0 run, resulting in a timeout from the Coastal bench. A technical foul was called on Coastal's head coach, sending Johnson to the line after the break, making both for a 7-0 BGSU run and 40-21 lead.
A jumper for the Chanticleers ended the run and marked the first points of the half for CCU. The bucket started a 6-0 run for Coastal Carolina, bringing the score to 40-27 at the under-16 media timeout.
The run reached 8-0 after the break with a three from Johnson ending the run. Each team added a basket with BGSU's coming off a Felt slam from a Green dish. The next time down, Green found Butler for a three, sending the teams into the under-12 media break with a 48-31 BGSU advantage.
The Falcons stretched the run after the timeout. Butler hit another three and a jumper later on for a 10-0 run. A hook shot for Coastal Carolina ended the run.
Bowling Green quickly resumed their run. Campbell swiped a steal, turning into a Butler three. Butler then drew a foul on a three-point attempt, converting two at the line. CCU ended the burst with a three.
Johnson made two at the line for BGSU, starting a back-and-forth. The Chants hit a three, but a fastbreak layup for Campbell followed for a score of 62-39 at the under-8 break.
Coastal Carolina put together a 7-0 run, chipping away at the score. Felt registered an and-one, ending the run and securing a double-double. Felt made the free throw for a 65-46 score at the final media timeout of regulation.
Campbell made a layup, breaking up CCU trips to the line that resulted in three points. A tip-in and jumper for Coastal made it a 7-2 stretch, cutting the lead down to 67-53, holding to the final score.

STAT LEADERS

Derrick Butler: 19 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
Trey Thomas: 12 points, 1 rebounds, 1 assist
Jamai Felt: 11 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Marcus Johnson: 11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, 1 block
Javontae Campbell: 8 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Wilguens Jr. Exacte: 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals
Braelon Green: 2 points, 5 assists

FALCON STAT FACTS

Bowling Green led for over 39 minutes of the game against Coastal Carolina after leading for a similar amount against NIU. Over the last two games, BGSU has led for 78:38 while trailing for just 23 seconds.
After having 15 assists as a team on Tuesday (Feb. 4) against Northern Illinois, the Falcons recorded 16 against Coastal Carolina. Braelon Green led the way with five, his second time this year with five assists, matching his career-high.
Derrick Butler led the Falcons in scoring with 19 points, including five three-pointers. Butler's five triples are the most by a Falcon since Butler had six against Morgan State on Dec. 7.
Jamai Felt logged his team-leading third double-double of the season, finishing with 11 points and a team-leading 11 rebounds. Felt added two blocks, now with 36 on the season.
Marcus Johnson filled the stat sheet for the Falcons, logging 11 points and seven rebounds. Johnson added a career-high four steals in the game to go along with three assists and a block.
Trey Thomas finished with 12 points for the Orange and Brown, hitting four three-pointers for the second consecutive game.
Wilguens Jr. Exacte swiped a career-high four steals for the Falcons, doubling his season total. He added two points, four rebounds and an assist to his stat line.
Bowling Green held Coastal Carolina to just 21 first half points, the fewest by a BGSU opponent in a half this season.
Coastal Carolina is the 267th unique opponent that Bowling Green has defeated in program history.
The Falcons have now tallied back-to-back wins for the first time since Dec. 7 when they beat New Mexico State on Nov. 30 and Morgan State on Dec. 7.
Bowling Green is now 2-2 all-time in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge, including a 1-1 record this season.

QUOTE FROM COACH SIMON
"Good win. Good to stack two games in a row where we held a lead from beginning to end. You're starting to see some maturity. You're starting to see some of our guys healthy again. Having a healthy Derrick Butler changes us remarkably, having DaJion Humphrey get his timing back and Jamai Felt is getting healthy. We had illness run through our team pretty strongly over the last 10 days and you're starting to see guys come out on the other side of that bug that's going around. Just starting to see that energy. You know, 16 assists, they are buying into the ball movement, buying into playing fast. Defensively, they are taking more individual ownership. Holding a team to 36 (percent) and 20 from three in one game is important and 11 steals on top of that. A really good day defensively and I liked our tempo, so a lot to build off of."

UP NEXT
The Falcons will resume MAC play with their third-straight home game on Tuesday (Feb. 11), hosting the Ohio Bobcats in a 7 p.m. tip at the Stroh Center. The game is set to be a White Out in the Stroh.

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