BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Purdue University men's basketball team fell 88-67 to Bowling Green State University in Thursday night's exhibition game held at the Stroh Center. The Pride took the floor for the first time in nearly 300 days and had only practiced a little over a week heading into the contest.
COACH ROBERTS
"It felt incredible to lace up our shoes and compete tonight," PNW head coach Boomer Roberts said. "We appreciate Bowling Green hosting us, and it's easy to see why they were picked to win the MAC. But tonight was a win for our program. Just getting to compete was a blessing, and then to see the kind of fight we had was inspiring.
Vince was big time, Jyro played well, X had seven assists and no turnovers, and our freshmen showed why they belong. Even with no scrimmages under our belt and only a handful of practices, the moment wasn't too big for our guys. We didn't shoot it well from three or the free-throw line, but we outscored them in the paint and showed a lot of toughness on the glass. We are looking forward to a couple key guys getting back on the floor with us, and our focus is on staying healthy, moving forward and getting better."
GAME SUMMARY
In his Pride debut, sophomore Vincent Miszkiewicz posted a double-double and led all scorers with 20 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals. The South Elgin, Illinois native shot 8 of 13 (61.5%) overall and knocked down his only attempt from three-point range.
Freshman Logan Phillips shined his debut with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting including a pair of treys. Top returning scorer Jyrus Freels produced 13 points while the Pride finished with a 43.8% shooting mark.
Additionally, freshman Caleb Zurliene had seven points, three boards and pair of assists. Senior Xavier Allison dished out a team-high seven assists with no turnovers and junior Anthony Barnard grabbed seven boards.
PNW never led during the contest but competed the entire way.
Early on, BGSU caught fire from beyond the arc by drilling 6 of 7 three-point attempts for a 24-12 lead. The Falcons kept the momentum and moved ahead by 16 with under nine minutes left in the first half, 34-18.
Then, Miszkiewicz led a furious 15-0 PNW run which held BGSU scoreless over a six-minute span to bring the Pride within a point near halftime. Miszkiewicz scored three consecutive buckets and nine points total during the stretch. He started the game 7 of 10 from the floor. Then, Phillips closed the run with his first trey and cut the deficit to 34-33 with under three minutes remaining.
BGSU held on for a three-point advantage at the break, 40-37. PNW couldn't get over the hump but clawed its way back through toughness on both ends. The Pride outscored the Falcons 24-14 in the paint and registered four blocks on defense. Notably, PNW wrapped up the game with a 40-38 advantage in points scored down low.
Playing its fourth game, BGSU's conditioning started to make a difference as the hosts opened the second half with a 11-1 run and outlasted PNW in the second half. The Pride responded with a nice defensive adjustment in the second frame by limiting the Falcons to 25% three-point shooting.
Justin Turner led four BGSU players in double figures with 19 points, six boards and five assists. Kaden Metheny (15 pts) and Trey Diggs (14 pts) each made four 3-pointers.
UP NEXT
PNW will open the regular season at Michigan Tech on Friday, Jan. 8.
