Bowling Green 63, Howard 48

Published Nov. 11, 2011 10:24 p.m. ET

foxsports

Scott Thomas scored 14 points as Bowling Green pulled away from Howard for a 63-48 victory Friday night in the season opener for both teams.

In their first regular-season game in the new Stroh Center after playing 51 years at Anderson Arena, the Falcons jumped out to a 13-0 lead. The Bison used a 15-5 run to make it 18-15 with 2:57 to go in the first half, but Bowling Green took a 26-17 lead into the break.

After Howard again cut the margin to three, at 26-23 with 16:56 to go, the Falcons went on a 9-2 run to push the lead into double digits.

Jordon Crawford and Craig Sealey added 13 points apiece for Bowling Green, which avenged a 54-52 loss last year in the only other meeting between the schools.

Mike Phillips was the only Bison player in double figures, scoring 10 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.