BOWLING GREEN – For the second time this year, Ohio could not hold a second-half lead against Bowling Green as the Falcons put an end to the Bobcats’ five game winning streak, 87-82, on Tuesday night at the Stroh Center.

Bowling Green shot 60.7 percent in the second half and recovered from a 9-0 hole to start the game. The Falcons got a balanced effort with 20 points each from Wes Alcegaire and Spencer Parker, 15 points from Antwon Lillard and 14 points from Rasheed Worrell.

"We had a chance to sneak into a tie for first and didn't defend at near the level to be able to call ourselves a first-place team,” Ohio coach Saul Phillips said.

Ohio (18-9, 9-6 Mid-American Conference) got another huge game from Antonio Campbell, who finished with 29 points and eight rebounds, and Jaaron Simmons also put up big numbers with 24 points and nine assists. Treg Setty added 16 points.

Campbell scored back-to-back baskets to start the game, and Kenny Kaminski knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 7-0. He did not make another shot in the game, though, finishing 1 of 10.

Treg Setty’s layup made it 9-0 only 2:15 into the game, and Ohio three times went up by 10 – once on a Simmons 3-pointer and twice on Campbell treys – the final time making it 22-12 with 10:48 to go in the first half.

From then on, the Falcons inched closer to the Bobcats and ended the half on a Lillard layup that cut their deficit to one, 37-36.

Ohio started the second half strong and led 52-45 on another Campbell 3-pointer at the 15:45 mark, but after neither team scored for two minutes, Bowling Green went on a 12-4 run to take its first lead, 57-56, on a Worrell dunk midway through the half.

They managed to tie the game at 66 on a pair of Simmons free throws with 4:45 to go and took a 69-68 advantage on a Simmons 3-pointer a minute later.

Kaminski could have added to the lead, but he was off from beyond the arc, and Alcegaire put Bowling Green back on top with a jumper with 2:54 to go. After a turnover, Parker scored a basket in the paint, and then after another Ohio miss, Worrell hit two free throws to make it 74-69.

The Bobcats got as close as three on a Simmons layup and trailed 78-74 with 52 seconds left on a Simmons 3-pointer, but the Falcons made eight straight free throws and got a pair of layups to prevent any chance of an Ohio comeback.

Campbell scored 19 of his points in the first half on 8-of-9 shooting. He picked up his second and third fouls in a span of 34 seconds in the second half. He was called for an offensive foul while getting tangled up with a defender as they fought for position at the 13:04 mark. Campbell left with Ohio leading by three and returned four minutes later with Bowling Green leading.

Simmons had 21 points after the break, going 8 of 13 from the field.

Kaminski struggled in his first game back after missing two with a concussion. Gavin Block, who had filled in well during Kaminski’s absence, did not score in 10 minutes and did not play in the second half.

“It was difficult to play Gavin and Kenny at the same time given our problems stopping the ball,” Phillips said.

Ohio got beat on the boards, 35-25, with Bowling Green getting 11 offensive rebounds, resulting in an 11-3 advantage in second-chance points.

Despite the loss, the Bobcats did not drop in its current position within the MAC as each of the league’s other top three teams also lost. Akron leads the league overall with a 10-5 record, one game better than the Bobcats, Buffalo, Kent State and Ball State. Central Michigan and Toledo are just one game behind those teams with three to play.

Ohio returns to The Convo for their final home game when they face Buffalo at 4 p.m. Saturday.