Friday’s Men’s Basketball Results
Bowling Green 69, Toledo 68
Miami 96, Kent State 92 (OT)
Recaps courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Bowling Green 69, Toledo 68
Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team took on the rival Toledo Rockets on the road Friday night (Feb. 21). In front of a packed Savage Arena and on national television, Javontae Campbell converted a third-chance layup with 1.6 seconds left on the clock to put the Falcons in front for the eventual 69-68 victory, taking down the Rockets.
The win marks the first for the Falcons inside Savage Arena since 2021 and Campbell's last second layup is the first late game-winner for BGSU since Justin Turner against Western Kentucky in 2019.
The Falcons and Rockets went back-and-forth through most of the game, seeing 14 lead changes and six ties. Despite the battle, Bowling Green didn't allow Toledo to build a lead larger than one point with BGSU leading for over 31 minutes of game time. For the Orange and Brown, 23 points from Campbell and 20 from Derrick Butler pushed the Falcons to the win.
The Falcons won the opening tip and tallied the first points of the game with a Derrick Butler jumper. Toledo later matched the bucket with a layup to begin an early back-and-forth.
Butler continued his strong start with a layup to put the Falcons back in front. He added one at the line for BGSU's first five points. A Toledo layup ended the Butler burst followed by a jumper for a 6-5 Rocket advantage at the first media timeout.
Out of the timeout, Javontae Campbell got a deflection that resulted in a Butler layup. Wilguens Jr. Exacte registered a second chance basket to give the Falcons a 9-6 lead.
Toledo hit a three to tie the game, but Butler quickly responded off an Exacte assist for his own triple. Toledo made a layup, but Campbell weaved his way through the traffic to match the bucket. Marcus Johnson hit a three the next time down for a 17-11 BGSU lead at the under-12 timeout.
Coming out of the break, Toledo got a jumper to fall followed by a three to pull within one, 17-16. DaJion Humphrey matched the triple on the BGSU end. A layup from Butler erased the Toledo burst with a 22-16 Falcon advantage.
Two Toledo triples were interrupted by a Jamai Felt slam, pulling the Rockets within a possession, 24-22. Another UT three pushed the Rockets in front, but Butler matched to reclaim the lead for the Falcons, 27-26 at the under-8 media timeout.
Johnson snagged a rebound for a put back out of the break followed by a Campbell layup, stretching the lead to 31-25. Back-to-back Toledo baskets narrowed the gap to a possession again with a 31-29 score at the final media timeout of the half.
After the timeout, a second-chance bucket for Toledo tied the game with a 6-0 run, but Johnson quickly hit a three for the Falcons to regain the lead, 34-31.
A layup for the Rockets pulled them back within one. Humphrey got a layup to fall, but Toledo answered before a Campbell layup for a back-and-forth. Butler ended the trading of layups with a three for a 41-35 lead. Toledo added two at the line for a 41-37 halftime score.
Toledo opened the second half with a layup, but Felt answered with an emphatic slam on the Falcon end. The back-and-forth continued with two Rocket free throws followed by a Campbell layup and a Toledo layup for a 45-43 score.
A three from UT pushed them in front 46-45, but Campbell quickly answered with a layup for the Falcons. The trading of buckets continued with a Toledo layup for a 48-47 Rocket advantage at the first media timeout of the half.
Johnson drew a put back foul, making two at the line for the Falcons to swing the score back to BGSU. Humphrey later hit a three followed by a Campbell layup for a 7-0 BGSU burst to push ahead 54-48.
Toledo ended the run with a layup and a dunk, but another Campbell layup answered. The Rockets hit a corner three to draw within one, 56-55, at the under-12 media timeout.
The Toledo run reached 7-0 after the break, moving in front 57-56. Campbell ended the run with a three for a 59-57 Bowling Green lead at the under-8 timeout.
Out of the break, Toledo made two free throws to tie the game before adding another at the line for a 60-59 lead. Campbell reclaimed the lead for BGSU with a layup. Exacte followed with a jumper and a Butler layup for a 6-0 BGSU run and 65-60 advantage, forcing a Toledo timeout.
Toledo ended the Bowling Green run at the line, making a pair, but Campbell responded with two for the Falcons at the line as well. The free throw battle forged on with two more at the line for the Rockets.
A three for Toledo tied the game at 67-67 with two-and-a-half minutes left to play. With 21.6 seconds on the clock, the Rockets made one free throw for a 68-67 score.
Working for multiple chances with offensive rebounds, Campbell found a lane off an Exacte pass, sinking a layup for the Falcons to put BGSU in front 69-68 for the win.
The Falcons will remain on the road for their next contest, heading up to Ypsilanti, Mich. to face Eastern Michigan on Tuesday (Feb. 25) for a 6:30 p.m. start. From there, Bowling Green will return home on March 1 to host Ball State for BGSU's Senior Day.
Miami 96, Kent State 92 (OT)
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami University men's basketball team edged past Kent State 96-92 in overtime Friday, ending the Golden Flashes' five-game win streak. Peter Suder led Miami with a game-high 22 points and recorded the 1,000th point of his career. Three other RedHawks finished the game in double figures, including Eian Elmer (17), Brant Byers (12) and Antwone Woolfolk (11). Jalen Sullinger (20) and Delrecco Gillespie (20) led Kent State in scoring. The RedHawks improve to 20-7 (11-3 MAC), while Kent State falls to 18-9 (8-6 MAC).
With this week's results, Miami has secured a spot in the 2025 MAC Tournament. Tickets for the MAC Quarterfinals in Cleveland, Ohio can be purchased here.
Kent State opened the game with a 5-2 advantage before Elmer recorded a four-point play after knocking down a three and getting fouled. Back-to-back threes from Byers gave the RedHawks a 14-12 lead with 13:27 remaining in the half.
The RedHawks stayed hot from beyond the arc, sinking five more triples to remain ahead 29-26. Numerous free throws from Byers and a pair of Suder field goals extended Miami's lead to 40-33. The Red and White entered halftime with a 44-41 lead.
The Golden Flashes used a 10-2 run coming out of the intermission to claim a five-point lead at 51-46. Elmer and Reece Potter scored two consecutive threes to put Miami back on top at 56-53. Luke Skaljac drove down the lane and found Potter for a two-hand slam dunk to give the RedHawks a 60-55 lead, forcing a Kent State timeout with 12:49 to play. The Golden Flashes responded by evening the score at 63 apiece.
Mekhi Cooper recorded a traditional three-point play after getting fouled on a layup to stay within one point of the Golden Flashes. Suder scored four points from the free-throw line to help Miami regain the lead at 70-69. Suder went on to find Antwone Woolfolk for a layup plus the foul to cut the deficit to 79-75. A layup from Skaljac and a three that banked in by Suder made it a one-possession game at 82-80. With just 13.2 seconds remaining, Suder tied the game at 82-82 with two free throws, and Elmer blocked Kent State's final shot attempt to force overtime.
Suder made a fading mid-range jump shot and added two free throws to keep Miami ahead 86-85. Elmer knocked down his fourth triple of the night from the left wing, and Potter put in a putback layup to give the RedHawks a 91-88 lead. Trailing 94-92 with 21 seconds left, Evan Ipsaro threaded the ball to Elmer in the left corner to claim a 94-92 lead. Cooper sealed the game with two free throws to push Miami past Kent State 96-92.
With this victory, Miami has reached 20 wins in a season for the first time since 1998-99. The Red and White have secured the program's most MAC wins since 2010-11.
Miami matched the most consecutive home wins (13) in a single season. The RedHawks' last home overtime victory came against Northern Illinois (85-82) in 2022.
Miami went 24-of-29 from the charity stripe, including Suder's 10-of-10 mark at the free throw line. Miami shot over 50% from the field for the 11th time this season.
The RedHawks made at least 50% of their shots from behind the three-point line for the fifth time this season.
The RedHawks host the Northern Illinois Huskies on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m.
