Bowling Green State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Begins MAC Tournament At Home With Ball State
March 06, 2005 | Men's Basketball
March 6, 2005
Complete BGSU Game Notes in PDF Format
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Complete Ball State Game Notes in PDF FormatDownload Free Acrobat Reader
First Round, First Energy MAC Tournament
#9 Ball State (15-12, 10-8) at #8 Bowling Green (17-10, 10-8)
Monday, March 7 - 7 p.m.
Anderson Arena (4,700)
Series Record: BGSU leads 35-32
THE POSTSEASON IS HERE
Just 19 days after BGSU captured a 70-69 victory at home against Ball State, the Falcons and Cardinals will meet again in Anderson Arena with the winner getting a shot at MAC champion Miami at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 10 in Cleveland's Gund Arena.
The Falcons have won the last two MAC Tournament meetings with the Cardinals, 90-81 in the first round of the 2003 tournament and 69-57 in the 2002 semifinals. Overall BGSU is 3-1 against Ball State in MAC tourney play. BGSU also won 79-69 in the 1983 semifinals, but lost 72-58 in the 1995 quarterfinals in Muncie.
Ball State defeated BGSU, 86-62, on January 18 in Muncie, while the Falcons won 70-69 in Bowling Green on February 16.
BGSU is 77-18 at Anderson Arena since the 1998-99 season and will be looking to win consecutive home games against the Cardinals for the first time since 1993-94 and 1994-95. Ball State has won 14 of the last 19 meetings in the last 10 years.
The Falcons are in their eighth season under head coach Dan Dakich, who was named 2005 MAC Coach of the Year by collegeinsider.com. Dakich is second all-time at BGSU in winning percentage (.571) and fifth all-time in wins with a 133-100 record. He and his family were honored by the Red Cross prior to the NIU game earlier this season for raising $1,777 for victims of the recent tsunami disaster overseas.
The Falcons lead the MAC and are ranked 16th in the country shooting 49.0% from the field this season. BGSU also ranks 12th in the nation and leads the league in assists at 17.0 per game. BGSU also is second in the league and 10th in the country in free throw shooting at 74.6% and are second in the league in blocked shots at 3.8 per game.
Senior All-MAC candidate John Reimold is second in the league in scoring at 17.6 points per game. He also ranks second in the league in field goal percentage (52.4%), and third in three-point field goal percentage (45.8%). He is a two-time MAC West Player of the Week selection who is averaging 17.9 points per game in the league. He has scored 1,720 points as a collegian (1,318 at BGSU and 402 at Loyola-Maryland as a freshman).
Senior All-MAC candidate Josh Almanson is fourth in the league in scoring at 17.1 points per game. He is shooting a league-best 59.3% (13th in the nation) from the field and is fifth in the league in free throw percentage (81.2%). He also is ninth in the league in blocked shots (1.0). He is the ninth most improved player in the country in scoring average adding 9.1 points per game to his total from a year ago. He is 29th on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,100 points. He hit a game-winning jumper with six seconds left to give BGSU a 57-56 win over MAC East leader Miami on February 27.
MAC FIRST ROUND GAMES UNDER Dan Dakich
The Falcons are 4-0 in first round MAC Tournament games since 1999.
2004--at BGSU 56, Ohio 54 2003--BGSU 90, at Ball State 81 2001--at BGSU 74, Western Michigan 68 1999--BGSU 80, at Akron 74 OT
WHY BALL STATE BEAT BGSU IN JANUARY
Ball State shot lights out in the first half making 57.1% from the field and 58.3% from three-point range in building a 12-point halftime lead. After BGSU cut the lead to 68-60 with 8:13 left in the game, the Cardinals outscored BGSU 18-2 the rest of the way.
WHY BGSU BEAT BALL STATE IN FEBRUARY
BGSU built a 13 point lead with 10 minutes left in the game and Steven Wright and John Reimold made key plays down the stretch. Reimold blocked a shot and Wright grabbed the rebound and knocked the ball off a Cardinal out of bounds with nine seconds left to give the ball back to the Falcons with a one-point lead. Free throws were the difference as Reimold made three of four in the final five seconds, while Ball State made just nine of 18 in the game and missed a pair that would have given them the lead with 11 seconds left.
PRIME TIME PERFORMERS
Reimold averaged 22.5 points against the Cardinals, while senior Josh Almanson averaged 18 points and nine rebounds. Dennis Trammell averaged 21.5 against BGSU but is out with an injury. Skip Mills averaged 15 points, Peyton Stovall chipped in 14 and Terrance Chapman had 13 points and 8.5 boards against BGSU this year.
