BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Marcus Hill scored 24 points as Bowling Green beat Ball State 80-70 on Friday night.
Hill had five assists and five steals for the Falcons (19-12, 10-8 Mid-American Conference). Jason Spurgin scored 15 points while shooting 5 for 8, including 3 for 4 from beyond the arc. Sam Towns had 11 points and finished 4 of 6 from the field.
Jalin Anderson finished with 22 points and four assists for the Cardinals (15-16, 7-11). Ball State also got 15 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals from Basheer Jihad. Mason Jones had 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks.
Bowling Green took the lead with 8:34 to go in the first half and did not give it up. The score was 35-26 at halftime, with Hill racking up 11 points. Bowling Green turned a two-point second-half lead into an 11-point advantage with a 12-3 run to make it a 40-29 lead with 17:37 left in the half.
Hill scored 13 second-half points in the victory.
BOX SCORE
BALL ST. (15-16)
Jihad 4-16 7-8 15, Jones 5-6 0-0 10, Pearson 1-5 1-2 4, Anderson 6-15 7-10 22, Middleton 4-8 0-0 9, Hendriks 4-4 2-3 10, Zagorsak 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-54 17-23 70.
BOWLING GREEN (19-12)
Agee 3-7 0-0 6, J.Spurgin 5-8 2-2 15, Hill 8-18 7-8 24, Phillip 1-5 4-4 6, Thomas 2-9 0-1 6, Towns 4-6 2-2 11, Humphrey 4-5 0-1 10, Greer 1-2 0-0 2, Edwards 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-60 15-18 80.
Halftime: Bowling Green 35-26.
3-Point Goals: Ball St. 5-19 (Anderson 3-5, Pearson 1-4, Middleton 1-5, Jihad 0-5), Bowling Green 9-22 (J.Spurgin 3-4, Humphrey 2-3, Thomas 2-8, Hill 1-2, Towns 1-2, Greer 0-1, Phillip 0-2).
Rebounds: Ball St. 30 (Jihad 9), Bowling Green 30 (Towns 7).
Assists: Ball St. 12 (Jihad 5), Bowling Green 13 (Hill 5).
Total Fouls: Ball St. 15, Bowling Green 20.
Attendance: 1,926 (4,387).