Bowling Green holds off Ball State 24-21 after freshman misses 52-yard field goal as time expires

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- — Connor Bazelak threw for two touchdowns, Terion Stewart ran for 92 yards and a touchdown, and Bowling Green beat Ball State 24-21 on Wednesday night.

The Bowling Green defense stopped QB Kiael Kelly on a fourth-down sneak with 1:43 remaining in the fourth quarter deep in Ball State territory. But the Falcons offense wasn't able to run out the clock, due to three timeouts by Ball State, and Bazelak was sacked on fourth down after electing not to attempt a field goal.

Ball State took over at its 33-yard line with 1:20 left. Kelly led the Cardinals to the BGSU 35-yard line with 12 seconds left. But two incompletions led to a long field-goal attempt by freshman Jackson Courville, who missed from 52-yards out as time expired.

Bowling Green (5-4, 3-2 Mid-American Conference) has won eight of the last nine games against Ball State dating to 1999. The lone loss, 41-24, over that span was the last meeting at Doyt Perry Stadium in 2014.

Bowling Green led 14-7 at halftime after holding Ball State to just 100 yards. Both touchdowns by the Falcons came following fumble recoveries. Stewart rushed for a 54-yard touchdown to cap a two-play drive, and Bazelak connected with Harold Fannin Jr. for a 23-yard score.

Fannin finished with five catches for 92 yards and Ta’ron Keith also had a touchdown grab for Bowling Green.

Kelly was 9-of-19 passing for 66 yards and he carried it 19 times for 90 yards and two touchdowns for Ball State (2-7, 1-4).

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