Last-second shot falls short as BG men lose to Albany

11/28/2010

DETROIT — Freshman center Cameron Black tallied his first double-double, but Dee Brown's three-pointer as time expired failed to drop in and Bowling Green lost to Albany 56-55 in the Legends Classic Sunday.

It was the Falcons' third game in three days at the tournament.

Black was scoreless in the first half and grabbed just two rebounds but he dominated inside over the final 20 minutes, finishing with 14 points and 10 boards, along with two blocked shots.

The game was close, throughout but Bowling Green made its biggest push midway through the second half. After Logan Aronhalt scored on a lay-up with 11:55 to go to give Albany a 40-38 lead, the Falcons went on a 10-0 run. Torian Oglesby grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to tie it at 40, and Dee Brown followed with a jumper to put the Falcons on top.

Black then scored on a three-point play and Scott Thomas followed with a three-pointer to make it 48-40 Bowling Green. But Albany answered with a 9-1 run to tie the score at 49.

With 4:00 left, Black scored and was fouled to give the Falcons a 51-49 lead.

However, he missed the free-throw, and Thomas grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled but missed the two follow-up charity shots. Aronhalt made Bowling Green pay with a three-pointer and the Falcons were playing catch-up the rest of the way.

Down 56-53, Black scored on a pass from Joe Jakubowski with 13 seconds left to make it 56-55. Aronhalt then missed the front end of the 1-and-1 to give the Falcons a shot but Brown's three-point look was no good.

Bowling Green shot 50 percent from the field in the second half and 43 percent for the game. The Falcons held Albany to just 34 percent shooting but the Great Danes made four more three-pointers and picked off 18 offensive rebounds to get enough extra shots to make up for the shooting difference.

Albany's Aronhalt scored at least 20 points in three of the last four contests, including a career-high 30 just one night earlier but the Bowling Green defense held him in check with just 18 points on 7-of-20 shooting.

Thomas had 13 points, six rebounds, six assists and a steal for Bowling Green, and Brown ended with 12 points. A'uston Calhoun had eight points for the Falcons, all in the first half.

Albany improves to 3-5 with the win, and Bowling Green falls to 1-6. The Falcons will have the week off before heading back on the road to play No. 2 Michigan State Saturday at 1:30 p.m.