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Bowling Green Men's Basketball Knocks Off Toledo Inside The Stroh Center, 76-68

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Football

The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team knocked off the rival Toledo Rockets Friday night on national TV with a 76-68 win inside the Stroh Center.

The Falcons took a 39-38 advantage into the halftime break and stretched their lead to as many as 11 in the second half to secure the win and split this season's Battle of I-75. The win makes Head Coach Todd Simon the first BGSU men's basketball coach to beat Toledo in their first season since Louis Orr in 2007-08.

Marcus Hill paced the Orange and Brown with his third 30-point game of the season, finishing with 31 for the Falcons. Rashaun Agee contributed a double-double, his 13th of the season, with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Da'Shawn Phillip (11) and Trey Thomas (10) joined in the double-digit scoring outputs as well. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Jason Spurgin recorded an early block for the Falcons, getting BGSU out in transition with Marcus Hill getting the fast break dunk to start the game. Hill added a floater for a 4-0 BGSU start.
  • Toledo tied it up at 4-4, but Trey Thomas got a layup to fall before Rashaun Agee had a put back for an 8-4 score. Thomas added a triple to push the Falcons in front 11-6 at the first media break.
  • Da'Shawn Phillip joined the scoring column, but Toledo closed the gap to 13-13 at the under-12 media timeout. Before jumping ahead 15-13 with a 9-2 stretch.
  • A three from DaJion Humphrey pushed BGSU back in front 16-15 before Toledo reclaimed the lead at 21-16. Humphrey hit another three for the Falcons to cut the score to 21-19 at the next media timeout.
  • The Falcons worked to tie the game at 23-23, but the Rockets moved in front again. Hill made a layup followed by a Sam Towns dunk to cut the lead down to 28-27. Hill tallied the next six BGSU points to make it a 34-33 score.
  • Phillip made two free throws to give the Falcons a 35-34 lead. The teams traded points down the stretch of the half before Phillip made a layup just before the buzzer to make it a 39-38 BGSU lead.
  • The Falcons recorded the first eight points of the second half. Agee registered a layup before two Towns free throws. Agee and Thomas added layups for the 8-0 run to start the half and a 47-38 lead.
  • A 5-0 burst for Toledo cut the score down to 47-43. Thomas hit a free throw and a jumper to bring the lead back to 50-43 before a 52-45 score at the under-12 media timeout.
  • Hill added two free throws before Spurgin threw down a massive dunk for a 6-0 BGSU run, extending the lead to 56-45.
  • Two threes by Toledo interrupted by two Hill free throws brought the score to 58-51 at the next media break.
  • Out of the timeout, Agee and Hill hit back-to-back layups to push the lead to 62-54. Toledo registered a three before calling timeout with the score at 62-54 BGSU.
  • The two teams traded free throws before a three from the Rockets. Agee answered with a second-chance dunk to bring the score to 66-59 at the under-4 media timeout.
  • Toledo made two free throws after the timeout, but Phillip showed BGSU's response with a three pointer to make it 69-61.
  • Hill traded layups with Toledo before sinking two free throws to push the lead to 73-63. Toledo hit a three and used their full timeout with the score at 73-66.
  • The two teams traded layups again with Bowling Green's coming from Phillip. Hill then made a free throw to secure the 76-68 final.

STAT LEADERS

  • Marcus Hill: 31 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist, 1 block
  • Da'Shawn Phillip: 11 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
  • Rashaun Agee: 10 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks
  • Trey Thomas: 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
  • Sam Towns: 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist

FALCON STAT FACTS

  • The win marks the first for the Falcons over Toledo since Feb. 13, 2021 and the first at home since Feb. 8, 2020. It also snaps a three-game losing streak for BGSU and splits the season series with Toledo. 
  • The Falcons shot 50% as a team from the field. BGSU has now shot 50%+ in six games this year and are 6-0 in those contests. 
  • Head Coach Todd Simon is the first BGSU men's basketball coach to beat Toledo in his first season with the Falcons since Louis Orr in 2007-08.
  • Marcus Hill tallied his 16th 20-point game and his third 30-point game, finishing with a team-high 31. The 30-point game is the first by a Falcon since Hill had 35 against Eastern Michigan on Jan. 2, 2024. Hill also recorded a block for the third straight game.
  • Rashaun Agee tallied his second straight double-double, finishing with 10 points and a team-leading 11 rebounds. Agee now has 13 double-doubles this season and 14 double-digit rebound games.
  • Scoring 11 points for the Falcons, Da'Shawn Phillip matched his season-highs in both field goals attempts and three-pointers attempted. 
  • The Falcons are now 7-1 this season when wearing their white uniforms with BGSU across the chest. 

QUOTE FROM COACH SIMON
"Great college basketball game. That's what rivalries are supposed to be about, two teams just playing as hard as they possibly can. A lot of emotion, physicality, defensive effort, second effort, third efforts. That's what college basketball rivalries are supposed to look like. Great showing and unbelievable crowd. Student section was amazing. You just get the ebbs and flows of the game, but that's the fun stuff."

UP NEXT
Bowling Green will remain at home for their next contest, hosting Miami (OH) on Tuesday (Feb. 27) for a 7 p.m. start at the Stroh Center. The Falcons have just two home games left on the schedule, also hosting Ball State in the regular season finale on March 8.