BOWLING GREEN — If the Mid-American Conference regular season title does indeed run through northwestern Ohio, Bowling Green became the first of the two local rivals to blink.
The Falcons dropped their first MAC games of the season Tuesday night, trailing Ball State nearly the entire game in a 88-64 defeat at the Stroh Center.
BG's first MAC defeat coupled with Toledo's win puts the Rockets alone in first place early in the league season.
The Cardinals (5-5, 3-2) dominated Bowling Green (9-3, 5-1) on the glass, outrebounding the Falcons 41-26, and had their best shooting night of the season by making 12 of 26 3-point attempts.