It might be about time for the pollsters to consider Bowling Green as a team worthy of being ranked.
Junior guard Dylan Frye scored 25 points, and redshirt sophomore guard Justin Turner added 22 points to lead Bowling Green to a 92-88 home upset of No. 18 Buffalo on Friday in a first-place showdown in the Mid-American Conference East Division.
It not only was Bowling Green's 11th win in its last 12 games, but it was the first time the Falcons beat an AP-ranked team since Kent State in 2008.
Bowling Green (15-6, 7-1 MAC) also moved into sole possession of first in the MAC East, one half-game ahead of Buffalo (19-3, 7-2).
Trailing by as many as 12 points in the first half and 47-39 at halftime, Bowling Green roared back in the second half, taking an 84-73 lead with 5:25 remaining on a 3-pointer by senior Antwon Lillard.
Buffalo mounted a rally, going on an 8-0 run to cut the Bowling Green lead to 84-81 with 2:43 remaining after back-to-back buckets by senior CJ Massinburg, including a 3-pointer.
Bowling Green took a 90-85 lead with 21.6 seconds remaining on two free throws by senior Demajeo Wiggins, but Buffalo cut the lead to 90-88 with 14 seconds left on a three-point play by senior guard Dontay Caruthers.
Lillard split a pair of free throws with 12.7 seconds left, giving the Bulls a chance to tie, but Massinburg missed a 3-point attempt. Turner pulled down the rebound in traffic and was fouled with 1.5 seconds remaining before hitting one free throw to seal the game.
Wiggins added 17 points for Bowling Green, which outscored Buffalo in the second half 53-41.
Caruthers led all scorers with 30 points on 9-of-10 shooting, and Massinburg scored 26 points in defeat for Buffalo.
The teams will meet again at Buffalo on March 8 in the regular-season finale.
--Field Level Media
Buffalo | Bowling Green | |
Dontay Caruthers 28 | Scoring | Dylan Frye 25 |
Davonta Jordan 4 | Assists | Dylan Frye 2 |
Montell McRae 9 | Rebounds | Demajeo Wiggins 10 |
Dontay Caruthers 9 | Free Throws Made | Demajeo Wiggins 11 |
Davonta Jordan 2 | Steals | Dylan Frye 2 |
Jeremy Harris 1 | Blocks | Demajeo Wiggins 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Buffalo | 88 | 48.4 | 12-31 | 14-19 | 11 | 38 | 2 | 5 | 18 |
Bowling Green | 92 | 50.8 | 8-19 | 24-36 | 7 | 27 | 1 | 6 | 9 |