Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
MOREHEAD STATE
Falcons Respond Against Morehead State
February 18, 2007 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 18, 2007
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Bowling Green, Ohio - When faced with adversity a team can respond in one of two ways. It can go away and hide, or it can look the situation straight in the eye and meet it head on. Saturday at Morehead State, the Falcons chose the latter as it dominated from the opening tip and won, 90-72. The game was part of the fifth annual BracketBuster Saturday.
"We wanted to come out with a sense of purpose," said sophomore Erik Marschall. "The last few days have been difficult, but hopefully this will make us come together as a group and we will build on it."
Disappointment in Tuesday's controversial 98-90 loss at Buffalo lingered as the Falcons were making their third six-hour bus trip in 10 days. However, BGSU Coach Dan Dakich took the opportunity to make sure they didn't forget their task at hand on Saturday.
"I told the players that everyone in the nation had seen what had happened earlier in the week and they would be watching to see how our team would respond," said Dakich. "Our guys showed just how tough they are. I'm very proud of them."
BGSU shot a season-high 60 percent from the field and tied their season best with 90 points for the second straight game.
The Eagles came out in a zone defense and when freshman Ryan Sims hit a three-pointer to make it 5-2 in the first minute it seemed to give BGSU a boost it sorely needed.
Junior Ryne Hamblet, senior Martin Samarco, sophomore Brian Moten, and sophomore Darryl Clements drilled three's into the teeth of the zone and that opened it up inside for sophomore's Erik Marschall and Nate Miller.
Marschall would come off the bench to score 12 of his 18 points in the first half as BGSU led 44-24 at halftime.
Samarco, who finished with a game-high 22 points, would hit a three-pointer to start the second half and Miller, who had 11 of his 19 points in the second half, would help BGSU build a 73-42 lead with 9:53 to go.
Morehead State, 11-16, began having more success from the outside, and would close the gap to 16 points but by then the game was decided.
BGSU will close out the MAC season with three of four at home. BGSU hosts Ohio, Wednesday at 7 p.m., in Anderson Arena.
