Bowling Green State University Athletics
BGSU Hosts UIC In Home Opener on Wednesday
November 22, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 22, 2004
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Illinois-Chicago (24-8 in 03-04) at Bowling Green (0-1) Wednesday, November 24 - 7 p.m. Anderson Arena (4,700) Series Record: UIC leads 2-1 Television: BCSN (Times TBA) Last Meeting: at UIC 83, BGSU 72 (2/22/03)
THE OPENING TIP
The Falcons are in their eighth season under head coach Dan Dakich. Dakich is second all-time at BGSU in winning percentage (.560) and fifth all-time in wins with a 116-91 record.
The Falcons are coming off a 69-59 loss at DePaul on Saturday. UIC will play #3 Georgia Tech at home on Monday night.
The Falcons did not play traditional exhibition games this season, but did participate in closed scrimmages at Ohio State and Duquesne. UIC defeated Robert Morris and St. Edwards in preseason tilts.
The Falcons are 7-0 in home openers under Coach Dakich.
Against DePaul, BGSU rolled out to a 9-2 lead and led 25-23 at halftime. The Falcons' 11 steals topped their single-game best of 10 against Northern Illinois a season ago. In addition, BGSU made all seven of its free throw attempts.
Fifth-year senior Josh Almanson led the Falcons with 17 points and seven rebounds. He took a career-high 16 field goal attempts. Junior Steven Wright had a career-high 17 points and added two steals.
Senior John Reimold has scored 1,260 points in his collegiate career, including 858 with the Falcons after scoring 11 against DePaul. He was a consensus first-team All-MAC selection in the preseason after averaging 15.1 points last year. Last year, the Falcons were 0-5 when he missed games due to a deep thigh bruise early in the season. Senior Cory Eyink also chipped in 10 points, three rebounds and three steals.
Freshman Perrick Robinson made his first career start and had four assists, three rebounds and two steals in 17 minutes of action. Junior Germain Fitch added four points, two rebounds and three assists off the bench.
Three other players made their debut for the Falcons. Sophomore John Floyd played 11 minutes and had three assists, a steal and a rebound. Freshman Scott Vandermeer had a blocked shot in six minutes of playing time. Junior Mawel Soler had two rebounds in six minutes.
The Flames were 24-8 last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament where they fell to Kansas in the first round. UIC won 12 straight games to earn the NCAA berth and return three starters, including senior guard Cedrick Banks who averaged 18.4 points and 3.3 rebounds last season. Senior forward Armond Williams averaged 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds. Head Coach Jimmy Collins has guided UIC to a 131-109 record in eight seasons and has seen his team reel off three 20-plus win seasons in a row.
UIC leads the overall series between the two teams, 2-1. In their last meeting , UIC defeated BGSU, 83-72 in Chicago in the first-ever Bracket Buster Saturday. This game is part of that return commitment for participating in that event.
This will be the fourth time that Dan Dakich and Jimmy Collins have squared off as head coaches, but the two spent several years on opposite benches as assistant coaches in the Big Ten. Dakich was an assistant at Indiana from 1986-97, while Collins was at Illinois from 1983-96.
This will be the second meeting between the two teams in Anderson Arena. On November 28, 1998, BGSU captured an 89-54 triumph over the Flames, while UIC won the first meeting in the series, 80-50, in Chicago in 1997.
The Falcons are 25-3 under Dan Dakich in non-conference games at Anderson Arena.
The Falcons posted their 18th consecutive winning season at Anderson Arena and have won 10 games or more at home in five of the last six seasons.
BGSU will remain home to face Bradley at 2 p.m., Saturday, November 27.
