Toledo 72, Bowling Green 64
Why — you may ask — do I say this game was fugly?
It was a rivalry game. The crowd was on the refs like photographers on Britney. BG's coach was jabbering like his mentor Bobby Knight. One of the BG players got a technical foul. People kept falling to the ground as the result of tough playing and jockeying for position. One player even came out from under the basket with a faceful of blood after fouling the ballhandler.
I think I've made my point.
What was so interesting about this game was that after following and rooting for Toledo all season, I put those sentiments on pause for a couple hours to cheer on Bowling Green. I did, after all, get the same diploma those Falcon fellas will soon receive.
I do it every year the UT-BG game comes to Toledo. After all, I can't deny the memories of yesteryear as I grew up on Toledo basketball. I vividly recall the players from the '90s: Keith Wade, Bobby Krahulik, Scoop Williams, Casey Shaw, Greg Stempin, Chad Kamstra, Brett Fedak, Robierre Cullars, and many others.
But please, no sympathy. I knew what I was signing up for when I enrolled at BGSU. Twice a year, my inner life force sets aside childhood memories in lieu of my Bachelor's degree and my countless orange t-shirts.
Onto the game
The match started out rather frenetic — just the way I like it. Toledo jumped out to a 10-2 lead, including two 3-point shots. After a quick BG timeout, the Falcons shot a couple threes of their own and blazed through a 16-2 run and found themselves up by 6.
Bowling Green maintained the lead at that point, and through halftime, until about the 10-minute mark in the 2nd half, when UT tied it up at 46-46.
The turning point was when BG guard John Floyd (a fellow St. John's Jesuit graduate) swished a 3-pointer, then went down the court and taunted UT guard Jonathan Amos, and was called for a technical foul. That erased BG's brief 2-point lead and UT guard Justin Ingram drained both technical free throws.
BG never led again.
Now, going back to the points I laid out this afternooon prior to the game:
- Martin Samarco. 17 points is actually below his average, but making 4 of his 6 three-pointers is rather impressive. He was among the several Falcons in foul trouble, sitting for 5 minutes in the second half because he committed his 4th foul with 11:51 remaining in the game, during which BG went from a 4 point lead to a 2 point deficit.
Article comments
1 - sal m
bowling green has way better school colors...how can you go against your alma mater? that would be like rooting for lafayette...yuk!
2 - Matthew T. Sussman
Odd ... most people don't think orange and brown is more stylish than blue and gold.
I'm an orange lover, myself.