BG’s shooting slumps in loss

Falcons never lead in loss to visting Penguins

Bowling Green's A'uston Calhoun dunks the ball while Youngstown State's Shawn Amiker looks on. Calhoun finished with 12 points in the loss for the Falcons.

BOWLING GREEN — After a fine effort in a win Tuesday against Detroit, the Bowling Green State University men’s basketball team was searching for a second straight win against a Horizon League squad.

Instead the Falcons laid an egg in a 58-49 loss to Youngstown State at the Stroh Center Saturday.

Bowling Green shot 31 percent from the field for the game, and its offensive struggles eventually affected the Falcons in other parts of the game as they saw a modest two-game winning streak snapped.

“When you’re at home, and coming off a big win against a team like Detroit, you just expect more,” BG coach Louis Orr said. “And we came up short.

“Missing shots can happen, but we couldn’t get our energy to the level it would take to overcome our shooting woes.”

PHOTO GALLERY: Youngstown State vs. BGSU

Jordon Crawford had 16 points and A’uston Calhoun 12 to lead the Falcons, who fell to 3-4 on the season.

Blake Allen had 15 points to lead Youngstown State (4-4), while Damian Eargle had 10 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks for the Penguins.

The Falcons never led and struggled offensively from the onset, missing their first four shots and making just 2-of-11 to start. The Penguins double-teamed Calhoun in the low block and the Falcons struggled in dealing with it.

“It was hard for me to see out of the post with my back to the basket when I’m facing a double-team,” Calhoun said. “It was hard to find the open man, and the one time I tried to pass to the opposite post it got deflected into a turnover.

“I tried to hurry up and get to my shot early, but that hasn’t been working for me the past few games.”

The good news was that Bowling Green’s defense kept YSU close until the Penguins used an 11-6 run in the final six minutes to lead 23-17 at halftime.

Youngstown State, which shot 36.7 percent in the first half, connected on 52.6 percent of its shots in the secondperiod and started to pull away. Bowling Green trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half and could come no closer than six.

“As the game goes later, you try to generate some energy off your defense,” Orr said. “Before the game, if you would have told me they would score just 58 points, I would have taken that.

“But some times offensive woes, if you’re not careful, can zap you a little bit. Scoring can be penicillin. Against Detroit we didn’t score a lot of field goals, but we guarded.”

While Calhoun and Crawford both finished in double figures, both struggled to make shots. Crawford was 6-for-19 from the field (31.6 percent), while Calhoun was 5-for-13 (38.5 percent)

“Offensively we had shots we could make,” Orr said. “As the game progressed we played more inside-out, but we started the game on the perimeter, and they doubled A’uston.

“[When that happens] you have to make plays. … Guys have to step up and play with confidence and shoot the ball with authority.”

NOTE: Senior James Erger injured his right shoulder late in the first half and did not play in the second half. Orr said that Erger could have played in the second half and should be back soon.

Contact John Wagner at:

jwagner@theblade.com,

419-724-6481 or on

Twitter @jwagnerblade.