Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Close Three-Game Road Swing with Trip to Northern Colorado
December 04, 2007 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2007
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) -
BGSU at NORTHERN COLORADO
Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007 • 7:05 p.m. MT
Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion (2,734) • Greeley, Colo.
RECORDS: BGSU 4-3 (0-0 MAC) // UNC 4-2 (0-0 Big Sky)
RADIO: BGSU Radio Network - Todd Walker
SERIES: BGSU leads, 1-0 // STREAK: BGSU - 1
LAST MEETING: at BGSU 63, Northern Colorado 53 (Dec. 19, 2006)
Complete Release, Stats & Player Bios (28 pages) in PDF Format
THE GAME
The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team concludes a three-game road swing by making the team's longest scheduled trip of the year, distance-wise ... the Falcons of head coach Louis Orr head to Greeley, Colo., for a Thursday (Dec. 6) game vs. the University of Northern Colorado ... tipoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. locally (9:05 p.m. Eastern) at the Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion (2,734) ... Thursday's game is the third in as many different states (South Carolina, Michigan and Colorado) in a 10-day span for BG ... following the UNC game, the Brown and Orange will take a break for fall semester exams, before returning to action with a Dec. 16 home game vs. Illinois State.
THE OPENING TIP
• The Falcons are coming off a 90-80 loss at Oakland on Saturday (Dec. 1) ... BG shot over 54 percent from the field in the game.
• Thursday's game at Northern Colorado closes a season-opening stretch in which the Falcons have played six of eight games away from home.
• The trip to UNC is the Falcons' longest of the season, in terms of distance ... Greeley, Colo., is approximately 1215 miles from Bowling Green, Ohio ... BGSU's three-game swing to Furman, Oakland and UNC will see the team travel a total of 1923 miles.
• Falcon head football coach Gregg Brandon is a 1978 graduate of Northern Colorado ... Brandon, a native of Colorado Springs, played football for UNC from 1975-77 ... he is in his fifth season as BGSU's head coach (after two years as assistant head coach under Urban Meyer), and led the 2007 Falcons to a regular-season record of 8-4 and a berth in the GMAC Bowl.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Falcons' game at Northern Colorado will be the team's sixth away from home in the season's first eight contests ... despite Saturday's loss at Oakland, the Falcons are currently 2-1 in true road games and 3-2 in games away from Anderson Arena this year to date ... BG won a total of three road games (3-10) and five games away from home (5-11 road and neutral-site games combined) during all of last season.
KNIGHT FEVER
Redshirt freshman Chris Knight has had a successful start to his BGSU career, to say the least ... after sitting out all of last season, he shook off the rust rather quickly ... Knight has had six double-digit scoring outings in his first seven collegiate contests, including three games of at least 20 points ... the Cincinnati native opened his collegiate playing career in his hometown as BG participated in the Peggy Cronin Classic (Nov. 9-11) ... Knight was named the MVP of the three-day, four-team tournament, and was named the MAC Player of the Week (Nov. 12) for his efforts ... he averaged 20.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, shooting 56.8 percent from the field ... Knight had a double-double in his collegiate debut, with 16 points and 10 rebounds in the Falcons' narrow loss to Western Carolina (Nov. 9) ... he had the first 20-point game of his brief career the following night (Nov. 10), making eight of his 13 shots from the field en route to 20 points in BGSU's win over Belmont ... Knight also had three boards, three assists and a pair of steals ... he capped the weekend with a 24-point, eight-rebound performance in a 69-67 win over UC ... he was 10-of-16 from the field, including a 2-for-3 performance from three-point range in that win ... Knight began the month of December with a 23-point game at Oakland Saturday (Dec. 1).
MILLER TIME
Junior Nate Miller has been heavily involved in the Falcons' offense this season ... Miller has six double-digit scoring games, including each of the last five ... he is averaging 14.4 points per game this season, including 18.0 ppg over the last three contests ... in that span, he has tied his career high with 21 points twice, vs. both Temple and Oakland ... Miller, who shot just 27.0% from the field over the first three games, has shot 62.2% in the last four contests, going 28-for-45 in that time.
D-TOWN
Junior Darryl Clements, a native of Detroit, Mich., had a solid game when the Falcons played near his hometown on Saturday (Dec. 1) ... Clements tied his career high with 13 points vs. the Golden Grizzlies, going 4-for-6 from the field ... Clements, who has started all seven games this year, played a career-high 37 minutes in the Oakland contest.
HAMBLET A SENIOR LEADER
Ryne Hamblet, the Falcons' lone senior, has provided consistent numbers for the Falcons over the first seven games ... Hamblet has posted six double-digit scoring contests in that time, and has had at least five assists in six contests as well ... Hamblet leads the Falcons with 38 assists (5.4 per game), and also paces the team in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.11 - 38 assists to 18 turnovers).
TWO-HEADED MONSTER
The Falcons' two sophomore post players, Marc Larson and Otis Polk, have proven to be a successful duo in the season's early going ... Larson and Polk have split time in the lineup, for the most part, averaging a combined 34.6 minutes per game ... despite a lesser amount of playing time in the Oakland contest, as both were saddled with foul trouble, the two have combined to average 12.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots per game ... and, Larson and Polk have combined to shoot 65.4 percent from the field through seven games ... the two are tied for second in the MAC in blocked shots.
TWO-HEADED SHOT-BLOCKING MONSTER
Soph Marc Larson had a career-high four blocked shots at Furman (Nov. 27), giving him a total of nine blocks this season to date ... fellow Falcon sophomore post Otis Polk blocked two Paladin shots in that game, increasing his total to nine as well ... following the Oakland game on Saturday (Dec. 1), as mentioned, Larson and Polk are currently tied for second in the Mid-American Conference in that category.
A BGSU WIN WOULD ...
• give the Falcons a 5-3 overall record with two-thirds of the pre-MAC schedule elapsed;
• give the Brown and Orange three road wins, which would match the total for all of last season; and
• improve the Falcons' record to 2-0 in the brief series with Northern Colorado, and also give BGSU a 2-0 mark against teams in the Big Sky Conference (BG has never played any of the other teams currently in the conference).
LEADERS OF THE MAC ... AND THE NATION
Entering the week, the Falcons lead the Mid-American Conference in no fewer than five team statistical categories ... BGSU is atop the conference lists in field-goal percentage (.479), FG pct. defense (.401), free-throw percentage (.769), three-point FG pct. defense (.289) and blocked shots (4.86 bpg) ... in the national rankings, the Falcons are 18th in the country in free-throw pct. and 31st in fewest turnovers per game (12.7) ... individually, senior Ryne Hamblet is eighth in the country in free-throw pct. (.957) and 43rd in assists per game (5.4) ... the NCAA rankings are through games of Dec. 2.
LAST TIME OUT
Host Oakland shot a blistering 66.7 percent in the second half to pull away from the Falcons for a 90-80 win Saturday (Dec. 1) ... redshirt freshman Chris Knight had 23 points to pace four double-digit scorers for BGSU, while juniors Nate Miller and Darryl Clements each tied their career scoring bests ... Miller had 21 points, while Clements scored 13 ... senior Ryne Hamblet rounded out BG's double-figure scorers with 11 points in the loss ... Hamblet and Miller each dished out seven assists ... for the Grizzlies, Johnathon Jones had 31 points, including 23 in the second half, to lead three twin-figure scorers ... the Falcons held Oakland to just a 35.5% field-goal rate in the opening half, taking a three-point lead into the lockerroom ... the game was close until the final few minutes ... a Hamblet layup with 6:10 on the clock gave BG a 65-64 lead, but OU would score the next six points to take the lead for good ... the Grizzlies used an 8-0 run to take a 78-67 lead with less than two minutes remaining ... BG hit no fewer than three three-point field goals in the game's final minute, but Oakland was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line during that time, keeping the Falcons from mounting a comeback ... BGSU actually had a better FG pct. for the game, shooting 54.2% to the Grizzlies' 50.0% ... the hosts held a 35-24 rebounding advantage, and went to the free-throw line 33 times to BG's 14.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the Northern Colorado game with a 4-3 record on the young season ... BGSU, as mentioned, is coming off a 90-80 loss at Oakland on Saturday (Dec. 1) ... prior to that game, the Brown and Orange had a 67-58 win at Furman (Nov. 27) ... the Falcons lost a three-point game to Western Carolina to open the season, before posting a three-game winning streak ... those wins came over Belmont, Cincinnati and Morehead State.
• Temple snapped that streak by downing BG, 72-55 (Nov. 24), before the Brown and Orange bounced back with the win at Furman ... the Falcons are 1-1 at home, 2-1 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site games ... BGSU is shooting 47.9 percent from the field, while allowing the opponents to shoot just 40.1%.
• Individually, redshirt freshman Chris Knight leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, with 15.3 points and 6.0 boards per game ... junior Nate Miller is second on the team in both categories, with 14.4 points and 5.4 boards per contest ... Ryne Hamblet, the team's lone senior, has 11.1 points, 3.6 caroms and a team-leading 5.4 assists per contest to date.
• Sophomore Marc Larson has 7.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg and 1.3 blocked shots per game ... he is tied for the team lead in the latter category, and is shooting 57.6% from the field (19-of-33) ... junior Darryl Clements has 6.1 points per game, and is also averaging 3.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists ... he ranks third on the team in boards and fourth in assists.
• Freshman Joe Jakubowski and soph Otis Polk are averaging 5.1 and 5.0 ppg, respectively ... Jakubowski is tied for second on the team (with Miller) with 2.6 helpers per contest, and he leads the Brown and Orange with nine three-point field goals made and a 45.0% long-range percentage (9-of-20) ... Polk is tied with Larson for first on the BG blocked-shot list ... Polk is shooting an otherworldly 78.9% from the floor, having gone 15-for-19 through seven games.
• Junior Brian Moten has 3.9 ppg, and is shooting 57.9% from the field (11-of-19) and 50.0 from the three-point line (5-for-10) ... soph Ryan Sims is averaging 1.9 ppg ... freshman Cameron Madlock made his collegiate debut in the Morehead State game.
• Clements, Hamblet, Knight, Larson and Miller each have started all seven games to date for first-year BGSU head coach Louis Orr ... the Falcons returned a total of eight letterwinners from last season's team, including five of the top-seven scorers and three starters from the lineup that BGSU used down the stretch ... the Falcons went 13-18 overall and 3-13 in MAC play in 2006-07.
SCOUTING NORTHERN COLORADO
Northern Colorado enters Thursday's game with a 4-2 record, and the Bears are riding a three-game winning streak ... the team already has matched the win total for all of last season ... most recently, UNC posted a 72-59 victory over Colorado State on Saturday (Dec. 1) ... the Bears are 3-0 at home this year to date, with victories over Denver, Johnson & Wales and CSU during the current homestand ... the team's other win came vs. VMI, with the two losses coming in road games vs. Air Force and Iowa ... individually, junior forward Jabril Banks has 12.8 points per game to lead a balanced scoring attack ... Banks also leads the Bears in rebounding, with 6.0 boards per game ... senior guard Sean Taibi has 12.0 points and 4.8 rebounds, while sophomore guard Will Figures has 11.8 ppg off the bench ... sophomore G/F Jefferson Mason is fourth on the team in scoring, at 8.3 ppg ... junior guard Robert Palacios (6.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg), senior guard Thanasi Panagiotakopoulos (5.8 ppg, a team-leading 3.3 assists per game) and Banks each have started all six games to date, but a total of nine different players have started at least one game this year ... Mason and Taylor Montgomery (6.0 ppg) were in the starting lineup for the CSU game for head coach Tad Boyle ... Boyle welcomed back eight letterwinners, including three starters, from last year's team that finished 4-24 overall and 2-14 in Big Sky Conference play ... Boyle is 8-26 in his second year as a collegiate head coach, both with the Bears ... the school's athletics web site is www.uncbears.com.
THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Northern Colorado, 1-0, in the all-time series between the teams, with the lone prior meeting coming in Bowling Green last season ... Martin Samarco had 22 points, and Ryne Hamblet scored 20 to give the Brown and Orange a 63-53 victory at Anderson Arena (Dec. 19, 2006) ... BG fell behind, 13-4, but used a 19-2 run midway through the first half to take control.
SHOOTING THE LIGHTS OUT
The Falcons have shot 50.0 percent or better from the field in four of this year's seven games, including in each of last week's two contests ... BG shot 50.9% from the floor at Furman (Nov. 27), and the Falcons had a field-goal percentage of 54.2% at Oakland on Saturday (Dec. 1) ... BGSU shot a blazing 66.7% from the field in the win over Morehead State, the team's highest field-goal percentage in a game in nearly 13 years (since a 67.8% shooting effort vs. Central Michigan in 1994-95) ... the school single-game record is 70.2%, on Feb. 12, 1979, against Duquesne.
SHARING THE WEALTH
BGSU has enjoyed success on offense in the season's early going, in no small part because of the Falcons' penchant for sharing the ball ... BG has had at least four double-digit scorers in five of the season's first seven games, including the Morehead State win (Nov. 17), where each of the Falcons' five starters scored at least 10 points apiece.
BLOCK PARTY
BGSU entered the season having gone more than two years without blocking as many as eight shots in a regulation game vs. a Division-I opponent ... the Falcons accomplished that feat twice in the first six games of the year ... BG's total of 10 blocks at Furman is the team's highest total vs. a D-I program in at least 13 seasons (at Perry Stadium East, game-by-game records are difficult to find for some years) ... the Falcons had eight blocks in the season-opening game vs. Western Carolina (Nov. 9) ... BG had recorded eight blocks in an overtime game at Buffalo last season (Feb. 13, 2007), and the Falcons had had nine rejections in last year's win over Michigan Tech (Dec. 27, 2006).
DIFFERENT PLAYERS STEPPING UP
No fewer than eight different BGSU players have had at least one double-digit scoring game this year to date ... senior Ryne Hamblet, junior Nate Miller and redshirt freshman Chris Knight each have hit double figures in six of the seven games, while sophomore Marc Larson has three double-digit outings ... junior Darryl Clements has scored in double figures twice this season, while classmate Brian Moten, soph Otis Polk and freshman Joe Jakubowski each have one such game this year.
A FEW MORE NOTES FROM THE OAKLAND GAME
• The Falcons' total of 80 points marked the second time this year that BG has reached that plateau, and the Brown and Orange posted season-best totals for field goals made (32), assists (20) and steals (10) vs. the Grizzlies ... Oakland's 90 points, however, represented by far the highest total the Falcons have surrendered this year to date ... BG had not allowed more than 72 points in any of the prior six games of the year.
• Three Detroit-area natives were close to their respective homes on Saturday ... junior Darryl Clements, sophomore Otis Polk and assistant coach LaMonta Stone all are natives of the Motor City.
• Clements responded by scoring 13 points to tie his career high ... he played a career-high 37 minutes in the game, and also set or tied season bests in field goals made (four) and attempted (six), free throws made (four) and three-pointers (one).
• Junior Nate Miller also tied his BGSU career high in scoring in the game, with 21 points ... he set or matched season bests in free throws made (seven), assists (seven), steals (three), blocked shots (one) and minutes played (37).
