LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bowling Green State University men’s basketball team took on the Bellarmine Knights on Saturday (Nov. 23) to begin a three-game road trip. For the Falcons, Derrick Butler and Javontae Campbell both registered 21 points in the game, giving Bowling Green their first game this season with multiple 20-point scorers. However, a strong second half from the field pushed the Knights in front for the 80-68 final. Bowling Green will transition to the Arizona Tip Off next weekend on Nov. 29 and 30, beginning with Weber State.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Bellarmine got on the board first in the game with a layup, but Javontae Campbell quickly answered on the BGSU end with a floater.
- Back-to-back threes from Marcus Johnson and Derrick Butler stretched the Bowling Green run to 8-0 with an 8-2 advantage
- Bellarmine responded with a three and layup for a 5-0 burst, trimming the score to 8-7 at the first media timeout.
- The Knights moved in front with a layup, but two Wilguens Jr. Exacte free throws swung the score back to BGSU before a Bellarmine three made it a 12-10 score in favor of the Knights.
- Butler added another three for the Falcons, but it was surrounded by a Bellarmine run that pushed their lead to 20-13 with just under nine minutes left in the first half.
- Johnson ended the run with two at the line for BGSU, beginning the trading of points. Campbell added a layup for a 24-17 score with just over six minutes left in the half.
- The Knights added two free throws after the media break before Campbell tallied three straight layups for a 6-0 run on his own, trimming the score to 28-23 at the final media timeout of the first half.
- Bellarmine ended the run with a pair of free throws, but Trey Thomas immediately responded with a three. Campbell added another layup followed by a Towns free throw to make it a 6-0 burst for BGSU, cutting the score down to one at 30-29.
- Bellarmine closed out the first half with a 4-0 spurt, taking a 34-29 lead into the halftime locker room.
- The Knights opened up the second half with an alley oop. While Campbell added a free throw for BGSU, Bellarmine added seven points for a 9-1 run to open the second half, building their lead to 43-30.
- A three from Butler ended the run followed by layups from Johnson and Khayat and then two free throws from Khayat for a 9-0 Bowling Green run, cutting the lead down to 43-39.
- The back-and-forth battle continued with Khayat adding two at the line and three pointer, trading blows with Bellarmine for a 49-44 Knight lead.
- Johnson tallied two free throws for BGSU, but Bellarmine connected on back-to-back triples and then a layup to stretch their lead to 58-46.
- BGSU’s Campbell and Bellarmine’s Smith alternated threes with each hitting two, carrying the score to 64-52.
- The Knights added four to their tally before a 5-0 run by Butler for the Falcons, cutting into the deficit, 68-57.
- A similar sequence followed with four for Bellarmine and then a Butler three and this time a Campbell layup to bring the score to 72-62 with just under two minutes left in the game.
- The rest of Bellarmine’s points came at the free throw line, holding off the BGSU attack that contained a Butler layup, a Khayat jumper and another Butler layup for the 80-68 final.
STAT LEADERS
- Javontae Campbell: 21 points, 2 steals, 1 assist
- Derrick Butler: 21 points, 4 rebounds
- Youssef Khayat: 11 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal
- Marcus Johnson: 9 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assist, 1 steal
- Trey Thomas: 3 points, 4 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal
FALCON STAT FACTS
- After entering the game with 14 steals on the season, tied for 10th in the nation, Javontae Campbell added a team-high two more to his season tally, now with 16.
- Campbell and Derrick Butler tied for the team-lead in points, each with 21. For Campbell, it’s his second time eclipsing the 20-point mark this season while for Butler it marks his first 20-point game as a Falcon.
- Campbell and Butler are the first BGSU pair to score 20 points in the same game this season. The last time two Falcons scored 20+ in the same game was on Feb. 3, 2024 against Central Michigan.
- For Butler, his 21 points came in part to five three-pointers. Butler is the third different Falcon with five threes in a game this season with it being the fourth time it’s happened this season.
- Bowling Green has now had a 20-point scorer in four straight games after Marcus Johnson moved past the mark against both Michigan State and Niagara.
- Youssef Khayat added 11 points for the Falcons and four rebounds, missing his season-high in scoring by two and his rebound total by one. Khayat now has double-digit points in four of BGSU’s first six games.
- Marcus Johnson hauled in a team-leading and season-high six rebounds in the game. He added nine points, two assists and a steal in the contest.
- Trey Thomas led the Falcons in assists with a season-high four. He added three points, a rebound and a steal to his stat line.
UP NEXT
Bowling Green will remain on the road for their next two games, competing in the Arizona Tip-Off next Friday and Saturday (Nov. 29-30). The first game is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 29 against Weber State with a 1 p.m. EST tip.
Follow the Falcons
Be sure to follow the Falcons’ men’s basketball team on social media
Twitter – @BGSU_Athletics and @BGSUMBB
Instagram – ‘bgfalcons’ and ‘bgsumhoops’
Facebook – ‘BGSU Athletics’
YouTube – ‘Falcon Athletics’
This article was published at bgsufalcons.com on 2024-11-24 04:43:00
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