The Bowling Green State University men’s basketball team opened its 2025-26 season with a decisive 83-48 victory over Texas State at home on Monday night. The Falcons built their win on an 18-0 run that bridged halftime, including a 7-0 finish to the first half and an 11-0 start to the second. This effort led to a dominant 43-19 advantage in the second half.
Mayar Wol led Bowling Green with 19 points off the bench, shooting a perfect six-for-six from the field and four-for-four from three-point range. Javontae Campbell contributed across several categories, finishing with 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals. In total, five Falcons scored in double figures and fourteen players saw playing time.
The game began with Troy Glover II scoring the first points for Bowling Green. After several runs by both teams in the first half, BGSU entered halftime ahead 40-29 following a late three-pointer by Josiah Shackelford. The Falcons continued their momentum into the second half, starting with another strong run that forced an early timeout from Texas State.
Other key contributors included Javon Ruffin with 13 points and three steals, Glover II with 12 points and two blocks—bringing him close to reaching 1,000 career collegiate points—and Shackelford adding ten points and five rebounds.
Bowling Green’s defense was notable; under Coach Todd Simon’s leadership, this marked the eleventh time his team has held opponents under sixty points during his tenure. The Falcons are now undefeated in such games under Simon. This was also the first time since November 2024 that BGSU kept an opponent below fifty points.
Coach Simon commented on his team’s performance: “A fun opening night. I thought this group had been practicing for an outing like this. The two exhibitions I thought really played into this. We played some really hard competition, some really physical teams. We know what our calling card is. I thought we were gritty for 40 minutes. I thought guys fought, competed, they were connected. The ball was free flowing. I think the guys really just wanted to compete and win on every possession and it was great. I mean, 11 times we got three stops in a row, five guys in double figures, we were plus-11 on the glass, forced 18 turnovers, seven guys with multiple defensive rebounds. So, a lot of the things that we value this group embodied and it was fun to see it in action. Texas State is very well coached, they do a really good job and they’re going to have a really good season. So, I was proud of our guys’ effort.”
With this win Bowling Green starts its season at 1-0 overall and improves to 3-0 at home as part of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge over three seasons—a streak that also includes winning six of their last seven home openers.
Several newcomers made their collegiate debuts for BGSU: Makhi Leach scored five points; Alijah Adem added one point; Camden Karel recorded an assist; Christian Dedivanaj grabbed two rebounds; Mohamed Maxamud scored his first two career points for Bowling Green.
Next up for Bowling Green are home games against Bethany College on Thursday (Nov. 6) at 7 p.m., followed by Le Moyne on Sunday (Nov. 9) at Stroh Center.
