Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
BUFFALO
Moten, Falcons Run Past the Bulls, 83-70
January 17, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2008
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - Junior Brian Moten had a career-high 20 points as the Bowling Green State University men's basketball team raced past the University at Buffalo, 83-70, Thursday night (Jan. 17). The Mid-American Conference game was held inside venerable Anderson Arena.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 7-8 overall and 2-1 in MAC play, while the Bulls fall to 6-9 and 0-3, respectively.
Moten was one of four double-digit scorers for the Falcons, as junior Darryl Clements, sophomore Otis Polk and freshman Joe Jakubowski each scored 13 points. Jakubowski's point total was the highest of his brief BGSU career to date, while Polk had his first career double-double, leading all players with a personal-best 10 rebounds.
Andrew Atman and Andy Robinson each had 11 points to lead a balanced UB scoring attack, as six Bulls scored at least eight points.
The Falcons forced the Bulls into 25 turnovers, a season high for a BGSU opponent, and BG enjoyed a 26-11 advantage in points off turnovers.
The home team also shot better than 50 percent from the field in each half, making 28 field goals in 52 attempts (53.8%) on the night.
The Bulls took an early lead, on a three-point play by Atman just 20 seconds into the game. A three-point field goal by Clements, however, gave the Falcons a 5-4 lead with just under two minutes elapsed, and BGSU never trailed again.
That Clements triple sparked a 7-0 run for the Falcons, with sophomore Marc Larson scoring four points during that stretch. Larson scored six points in the game's first 3:19, with a 2-for-2 shooting performance both from the field and from the free-throw line.
Sean Smiley hit a pair of charity tosses to end the Falcons' run and cut BG's lead to 9-6, but Polk, into the game for Larson, tipped in a teammate's missed shot at the 15:29 mark, then hit two free throws just 24 seconds later. Another offensive rebound and layup by the sophomore gave the Falcons a 15-8 lead at 14:13.
That hoop gave Polk a total of six points in a span of just 1:28. Polk, like Larson, began the game by going 2-for-2 both from the field and from the stripe.
UB's Max Boudreau scored to cut the Falcons' lead to 15-10, but Moten hit a three-pointer off a Clements pass, then hit a layup in transition after a Clements defensive rebound and outlet. The Falcons led by a 20-10 count as the Bulls burned a timeout.
A Jakubowski jumper capped BG's second 7-0 run of the night and gave the Falcons a 12-point lead at 22-10.
The visitors battled back within five points, 24-19, before redshirt freshman Chris Knight hit a layup at the 8:06 mark. Clements followed with a jumper in the lane, and the lead was back to nine points.
Atman got an offensive rebound and layup, but the Falcons scored six-straight points, beginning with a Clements jumper. Then, some nifty passing from Clements to Knight to Moten resulted in a layup by the latter player, and a 32-21 edge. A pair of Polk free throws upped the margin to 13 points.
Moten hit a jumper at the 2:13 mark, then worked a give-and-go with Polk off an inbounds pass at the offensive end. Polk took the pass, then returned the ball to a wide-open Moten under the hoop, and the lead was 15 points, at 38-23.
The Falcons' increased the lead as high as 18 points, as junior Nate Miller converted a three-point play and sophomore Ryan Sims knocked down a pair of free throws. A late FT by Brian Addison cut BG's lead to 43-26 at the half.
The Bulls cut the lead as close as 11 points in the first few minutes of the second half, but a three-point play by Clements sparked an 8-0 run. Moten followed with another and-one basket, and hit the resulting free throw. When Jakubowski stole the ball from Atman and went the length of the floor for a layup, the lead was 19 points, 55-36.
The lead stayed between 14 and 19 points until just over a minute remained. The Bulls scored seven-straight points to get within 73-62 with 48 seconds left, and would come as close as 11 points one more time. But, the Falcons would make 10-of-11 free throws to close the game.
Miller scored nine points and Knight seven for the Falcons, while Larson added six points and two blocked shots. Clements had a career-high seven assists and three steals, in addition to his 13 points.
For the Bulls, Calvin Betts had 10 points and a team-leading seven rebounds, as UB owned a 43-32 advantage on the boards. Boudreau and Byron Mulkey scored nine points apiece, while Grag Gamble added eight.
The Falcons now prepare for a Sunday (Jan. 20) game at the University of Akron. That game will begin at 7:00 p.m. at Rhodes Arena. Then, the Brown and Orange will return home for a Wednesday (Jan. 23) game vs. Miami University at Anderson. Start time for that game is also 7:00 p.m.
NOTES
* The Falcons now lead Buffalo, 12-4, in the all-time series between the teams ... BGSU holds an 8-1 advantage in home games vs. the Bulls.
* Three games into the MAC schedule, the Falcons find themselves in third place in the East Division standings ... BGSU, 2-1 in league play, is a game behind co-leaders Kent State and Akron ... both Northeast Ohio teams are 3-0 in the conference after Thursday wins ... KSU won, 74-62, at Miami, while Akron got a late tip-in for a 55-54 home win over Ohio ... the Bobcats are 1-2 in conference play, while MU and UB both are 0-3.
* Falcon junior Brian Moten scored a career-high 20 points vs. Buffalo Thursday ... Moten's previous career best was 18 points, against Jacksonville State last season (Dec. 29, 2006) ... the Saginaw, Mich., native made six field goals, just one off his career high, and his total of 11 FG attempts tied his career most.
* Moten also set a career high in free throws made, with seven ... after shooting just one free throw in the season's first 10 games, Moten has gone 18-for-21 over the last five contests.
* Sophomore Otis Polk, like Moten, also made a career-high seven FTs.
* Polk, as mentioned, had the first double-double of his Falcon career, with 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds ... Polk now had set or matched his career rebounding high four times in the last six games.
* Polk averaged 3.4 rebounds over the season's first nine games ... in the last six games, the Detroit native has averaged 7.5 boards per outing ... he has averaged 4.2 offensive rebounds per game during that time.
* Freshman Joe Jakubowski, as mentioned, scored the most points of his brief Falcon career to date, with 13 vs. Buffalo ... Jakubowski now has five double-digit outings this season ... he made a season-high six field goals, and tied his season high with nine FGA.
* Junior Darryl Clements scored 13 points as well, for his third double-digit outing in as many games and his seventh of the season ... Clements also dished out a career-high seven assists in the win.
* The Falcons set season highs for free throws made (24) and attempted (35).
* BGSU scored 43 points in the first half, tied for the second-highest total in a half this season ... the Falcons had 46 points in the second half of the Duquesne game, and had scored 43 points in a half on four prior occasions this year to date.
* BG's overall point total was the team's second highest of the year ... the Brown and Orange scored 86 in a win over Morehead State in the home opener (86-70; Nov. 17).
* The Falcons forced Buffalo into 25 turnovers, a season high for a BGSU opponent.
