John Reimold keys Bowling Green

The Kennedy Catholic High graduate scored 26 points to pace a 76-64 win.
& lt;a href=mailto:mollica@vindy.com & gt;By PETE MOLLICA & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOWLING GREEN -- It might have been Bracket Buster Saturday, but for the Bowling Green Falcons it was more like basket buster against Youngstown State at Anderson Arena.
Bowling Green, sparked by former Kennedy Catholic High standout John Reimold, shot 76.9 percent from the 3-point line in the first half, jumping out to a big lead that carried the Falcons to a 76-64 victory over the Penguins.
YSU (8-17), which is 1-12 on the road this season, will complete its regular season with two Horizon League games this week. The Penguins travel to Butler Wednesday and play host to Detroit Saturday night.
Reimold sparkles
Reimold, who helped Kennedy Catholic to three Pennsylvania state championships, made his first three shots of the game, all of them 3-pointers, as the Falcons connected on 10-of-13 from behind the arc in the first half, building a 12-0 lead.
"I don't know if I've ever had a start like this one," Reimold said. "They were playing a pretty soft zone to start and the shots were there, but after the first one I just wanted the ball quickly. I felt it was there."
Reimold finished with a game-high 26 points as the 6-foot-6 junior made 9-of-15 shots, including 4-of-8 on 3-pointers.
The Falcons didn't score a 3-point goal in the second half, but still shot well enough from the field and made 20-of-25 free throws to keep Youngstown State at bay.
YSU put three players in double figures, led for the second straight game by junior Khari McQueen with 11 points, while senior Adam Baumann and junior Doug Underwood each added 10.
YSU coach John Robic wasn't disappointed with his team's play.
3-point factor
"Take away those first half 3-pointers and it's a different game," said Robic. "I told the kids after the game that they started out 12-0 on 3-pointers and we ended up losing by 12 points.
"I thought we did everything but defend against the 3-pointers," Robic said. "We were aggressive, we didn't turn over the ball and we got to the foul line more than they did, all keys to the game that we had."
The quick start by the Falcons (12-13) was the difference.
Bowling Green controlled the opening tip and after two quick passes Reimold made his first 3-pointer.
Following YSU miss, Reimold connected again from almost the same spot, and after he did it a third time the Penguins called time out.
In 12-0 hole
The next time up the floor, the fourth 3-pointer was made by Cory Eyink and with nearly 18 minutes remaining the Penguins trailed 12-0.
The lead was 14-2 before the Penguins cut it back to six points, 19-13, with 10:59 remaining, but YSU could not get any closer the rest of the way.
Every time the Penguins tried to make a run, the Falcons made a 3-point goal as they connected on six more in the final 10 minutes, two by Steven Wright.
"It just seemed that we could never get under a 10 point margin," Robic said. "Every time we scored they came back with a 3 and we are one of the best 3-point shooting defenses in our conference."
Trailing 43-30 at halftime, the Penguins held their own early in the second half, but an 8-3 run by the Falcons pulled them ahead 55-38.
YSU got the lead down to 10 points 61-51 with 8:27 remaining, but never got any closer.
& lt;a href=mailto:mollica@vindy.com & gt;mollica@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;