Men's Basketball Soars to Season-Opening Win at Georgia State - Bowling Green State University Athletics

Monday, November 2

Atlanta, Ga.

6 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

1-0,0-0MAC

Georgia State

0-1,0-0Sun Belt

Team	1	2	F
Bowling Green	34	42	76
Georgia St.	34	39	73

Zach Howell shoots a three point shot against Georgia State at the GSU Convocation Center in Atlanta, Ga.

Photo by: Daniel Wilson/ Georgia State Athletics

November 02, 2026 | Men's Basketball

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Bowling Green Collected its 1,500th Program Victory in its 112th Season

By: by Sam Hughes, BGSU Athletics

ATLANTA, Ga. – Redshirt senior Zach Howell led all players with 28 points to guide Bowling Green to a 76-73 road victory over Georgia State in the MAC/ Sun Belt Challenge on Monday evening inside the GSU Convocation Center.

Bowling Green improved to 1-0 for the fourth time in the past five seasons, meanwhile, Georgia State fell to 0-1 with the season-opening loss.

Howell went 10-for-14 from the field and 6-for-10 from three point range for a Falcons offense that finished at 49.1% (27-for-55) from the floor and 38.1% (8-for-21) from beyond the arc. Junior Josiah Shackelford and sophomores Tristan Beckford and Makhi Leach all finished with 12 points apiece to pace BGSU to victory.

Georgia State was led by Jacob Meyers who recorded 25 points and teammate Jaden Jackson tallied 20. The Panthers went 40.6% (26-for-64) from the floor and 42.9% (15-for-35) from three-point land.

Howell scored 15 of his 28 points in the first half as the two teams were deadlocked at 34-34 heading into the halftime intermission.

Out of the halftime break, the Falcons scored 10 straight points and ballooned their run to a 19-4 stretch over the opening 5:43 of the second half. With 9:36 remaining in the game, Shackelford nailed a jumper to give BGSU a 19-point lead at 63-44, their largest of the night.

Georgia State found a spark when Jackson drained a three-pointer with 8:06 remaining which ignited an 18-3 run over the next 4:33 to cut the deficit to 68-64.

Bowling Green held a 71-65 lead heading into the final 90 seconds of the game where they converted six-for-nine form the free throw line down the home stretch to close out the season-opening victory.

FALCON FACTS

Bowling Green collected its 1,500^th program victory in its 112^th season.
Monday was the second all-time meeting between the two programs with Bowling Green emerging victorious on both occasions. The initial game between BGSU and Geogia State came on Nov. 14, 2008.
Six Falcons – Howell, Tristan Beckford, Christ Essandoko, Trey Simmons, Juan Cranford Jr. and KJ Torbert – made their Bowling Green debut on Monday evening.
Howell's 28 points were the most by a Falcon in a single-game since Javontae Campbell dropped 31 points versus Buffalo on Jan. 27, 2026.
BG outscored Geogia State in the paint by a 38-18 margin.
BGSU went 52% (13-for-25) from the floor and 50% (5-for-10) in the second half.

HEAD COACH TODD SIMON POST-GAME QUOTE
"We are pleased to get a quality road win in the MAC/ Sun Belt Challenge. Our toughness on the glass was a difference maker for us. We executed well for stretches which allowed us to get a 19 point lead but we have to continue improving possessions, making free throws and defending the three point arc. We will need to continue the momentum in our home-opener on Monday."

UP NEXT
Bowling Green hosts Cleveland State for its home-opener on Nov. 9. Tip off inside the Stroh Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will also air on ESPN+.

Tickets for all Bowling Green home men's basketball games are now on sale. Single game tickets can be purchased online by clicking here, calling the ticket office at 419-372-0000, or by emailing the ticket office at tickets@bgsu.edu. Fans may also visit the Stroh Center Ticket Office to purchase tickets, and the hours of operation are Monday – Friday from 9:00am to 5:00pm.

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