Bowling Green can't finish off WMU

Bowling Green's Marc Larson grabs a rebound away from Western's Flenard Whitfield. ERIK HOLLADAY Enlarge

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — On a Sunday afternoon in March when Bowling Green State University was sizzling hot shooting the basketball, the Falcons still found it difficult to shake an ugly season-ending pattern.

BG played well against Western Michigan in Mid-American Conference tournament first-round matchup, but not well enough as the Broncos got a 75-73 victory before a passionate crowd of 1,786 at University Arena.

The Falcons, who opened the game with an 8-0 lead and led the Broncos by as many as 10 points in the first half, suffered their fourth consecutive loss and ended their season by losing five of six.

BG shot just under 60 percent, making 29-of-49 shot attempts, in a game neither team led by more than five points in the second half.

“Like I told the guys, at the end of the day, that's still not enough,” said BG coach Louis Orr, whose team connected on 8-of-12 3-pointers.

What haunted the Falcons for most of the season was a problem again yesterday. They failed to slow the Broncos offense and came up on the losing end of a number of intangibles such as “hustle plays.”

“We give up 19 second-chance points on 14 offensive rebounds,” Orr said. “If you look at it, that's the difference in the game.”

It also didn't help that the Falcons didn't make the most of their free-throw opportunities (7-of-12), while the Broncos were 16-of-18. BG missed three key free throws late in the contest.

Sophomore Scott Thomas led the Falcons attack, pouring in 23 points by draining 10-of-15 shot attempts, including 3-of-4 3-pointers. Marc Larson made the most of a rare start by recording a double-double, scoring 12 points on a 4-for-5 shooting effort and grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds.

Joe Jakubowski and Dee Brown also provided double figures, scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively. Jakubowski dished out seven assists.

Larson, one of four seniors on BG's roster, played arguably his best game of the season.

“I figured I would just go out there and throw it all on the line, play as hard as I could, do all I could on the court to affect the outcome and let the results take care of themselves,” said Larson, who was awarded a spot in the starting lineup for his recent effort in a previous game.

Western Michigan's David Kool, who hit the game-winning basket against BG during the regular season, led the Broncos, scoring 15 of his team-high 20 points in the second half. Kool, the MAC scoring leader, also pulled down six rebounds and dished out five assists while playing the entire game.

Flenard Whitfield came off the Broncos bench and provided a huge spark, tallying 19 points and pulling down six boards, while Martelle McLemore scored all 12 of his points in the first half by knocking down four 3-pointers.

The Falcons' last lead came with just under eight minutes to play when Otis Polk tipped in a missed shot for a 62-61 lead.

However, the Broncos regained the lead on a 3-pointer by Kool to make it 64-62. Western Michigan led the rest of the way.

“I think we came out ready, but they executed better than we defended early on,” Western Michigan coach Steve Hawkins said. “It didn't help at all that they were just blazing hot. Even when we were there defensively they hit shots.

“They were hitting some shots that it would be hard-pressed to hit in the game of H-O-R-S-E. It was just two teams battling it out.”

NOTE: Luke Kraus started in BG's backcourt for the first time and finished with two points in seven minutes of playing time.

Contact Donald Emmons at:demmons@theblade.comor 419-724-6302.