The Bowling Green State University men’s basketball team secured a 72-54 win over Western Michigan on Tuesday night in Kalamazoo. The Falcons improved their season record to 13-6 and now stand at 4-3 in the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
Sam Towns led Bowling Green with 21 points, his third game this season reaching the 20-point mark. He also grabbed nine rebounds, tying for the team lead, and set new career highs by making nine free throws out of twelve attempts. Towns has now accumulated a personal best of 125 rebounds this season.
Javontae Campbell contributed 20 points for the Falcons, marking his seventh game with at least 20 points this year. Campbell also tied for the team lead with nine rebounds and added seven assists. Defensively, he collected five steals during the game, increasing his season total to 64 and career total to 154. This performance moved him into tenth place all-time for career steals at Bowling Green, surpassing Justin Turner. In single-season steals, Campbell also reached sole possession of tenth place.
Josiah Shackelford scored 13 points while Troy Glover II finished just short of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds along with four blocks. Mayar Wol added six points.
Bowling Green’s defense played a significant role in the victory by forcing Western Michigan into committing 15 turnovers and limiting them to just over 32 percent shooting from the field and slightly above 23 percent from three-point range.
Coach Todd Simon commented on the team’s focus: “Our complete emphasis is to get back [to defense]. Defense travels. We don’t want to be a team that just tries to outscore people. Our emphasis has been, for a few days here, we’re going to get back to guarding and that’s what practice has been focused on. When you hold a team to 33-percent on their home court, 23-percent from three and 15 turnovers, that’s a heck of an outing on the defensive end.”
This win marks Bowling Green’s third consecutive victory in Kalamazoo since the period between 2019-2022 as well as their first back-to-back wins in the year.
Looking ahead, Bowling Green will continue its road trip against rival Toledo Rockets on Saturday before returning home next Tuesday for a matchup against Buffalo at Stroh Center.
