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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Prepare to Face West Division-Leading Western Michigan
January 31, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 31, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) -
BGSU at WESTERN MICHIGAN
Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008 • 4:00 p.m.
University Arena (5,421) • Kalamazoo, Mich.
RECORDS: BGSU 10-9 (5-2 MAC) // Western Michigan 11-9 (5-2 MAC)
RADIO: Falcon Radio Network - Todd Walker
SERIES: BGSU leads, 65-40 // STREAK: WMU - 8
LAST MEETING: Western Michigan 72, at BGSU 63 (Jan. 24, 2007)
BGSU Notes, Stats & Player Bios in PDF Format
BGSU Game-by-Game Boxscores in PDF Format
THE GAME
The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team, riding a three-game winning streak, continues Mid-American Conference cross-divisional play with a game against the West Division leader ... the Falcons of head coach Louis Orr head to Kalamazoo, Mich., for a Saturday (Feb. 2) game against Western Michigan University ... tipoff is tentatively set for 4:00 p.m. at University Arena (5,421), although the game is the second half of a WMU basketball doubleheader, with the women's game starting at 2:00 p.m. ... following the WMU game, the Falcons will return home for the next two games, hosting Central Michigan (Feb. 6) and Toledo (Feb. 10).
THE OPENING TIP
• The Falcons head to WMU after picking up a MAC road win for the first time in over two years ... BGSU's 63-53 win at Ball State Wednesday night (Jan. 30) snapped a 15-game losing streak in conference road games ... the Falcons' last win at a hostile venue in MAC play came two years and four days prior to Wednesday - Jan. 26, 2006 - a 79-74 triumph at Kent State.
• Junior Brian Moten led the Falcons with 19 points at Ball State ... Moten made 8-of-9 field-goal attempts, including a 3-for-4 performance from three-point range ... the Saginaw, Mich., native has led BG in scoring in three of the last five games ... he is averaging 11.3 points per game in MAC play to rank second on the team.
• BG's 56.1% field-goal pct. in the BSU game was the team's second-best performance of the year ... the Falcons shot 68.8% over the final 35 minutes.
FALCONS HOPE THESE TRENDS CONTINUE
As BGSU heads to Western Michigan, the Falcons hope several recent Mid-American Conference trends continue, at least through the weekend ... entering this week, MAC teams were a combined 5-31 in conference road games ... however, the road teams went 4-2 during the midweek games (Jan. 29-30) ... additionally, the MAC East Division teams went 5-1 during that two-day stretch.
FALCONS TIED FOR SECOND
Nearly halfway through the 16-game MAC schedule, the Falcons have a league record of 5-2 ... BGSU - picked to finish last in the six-team East Division in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll - is currently tied for second, just a game out of first ... the Falcons, Akron and Ohio are deadlocked in the standings, a game behind East-leading Kent State (6-1).
FALCONS TOP (OR MATCH) LAST YEAR'S TOTALS
• Following the win over Ball State, the Falcons - as mentioned numerous times already - have a MAC record of 5-2 ... BGSU is one win away from doubling the team's conference victory total from all of last season ... the Falcons went 3-13 in MAC play a year ago.
• After winning a total of three MAC games last year, BGSU has won three consecutive conference contests heading into the WMU game.
• BGSU is 1-2 in MAC road games this season, after going 0-8 in such games last year.
• The Falcons are now 3-5 in road games this season, matching the total for all of last year ... BG went 3-10 in away contests in 2006-07.
STREAKY
The Falcons' three-game MAC winning streak is the team's longest since BGSU went 4-0 to begin the 2004-05 conference season (Jan. 2-12, 2005) ... BG's 5-2 start in MAC play is the team's best since that '04-05 squad also won five of seven games to start the conference season.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the Western Michigan game with a 10-9 overall record on the season, and BGSU is 5-2 in MAC play ... BGSU has won three consecutive games, matching the longest such streak of the season ... the Falcons opened the league schedule with a 52-49 win over Ohio (Jan. 5), before losing at Kent State, 63-49 (Jan. 12) ... the Brown and Orange rebounded with an 83-70 victory against Buffalo (Jan. 17), but suffered an 80-44 setback at Akron three days later (Jan. 20) ... BG posted narrow home wins over Miami, (55-52; Jan. 23) and Northern Illinois (63-59; Jan. 27) before heading to Ball State and picking up a 63-53 decision Wednesday (Jan. 30).
• The Falcons opened the season with a 4-2 record, including a 2-1 mark at the season-opening Peggy Cronin Classic at Cincinnati ... the wins in that tourney came over Belmont and host UC ... the Falcons' other victories over the first six games of the year came against Morehead State and at Furman ... then, however, the Brown and Orange suffered a four-game losing streak ... three of those losses came on the road, and none by more than 11 points.
• The Falcons won two of three games on the homestand that bridged the New Year, with a 52-48 win over Eastern Illinois (Dec. 29), a 96-78 loss to Duquesne (Jan. 2) at Anderson Arena and the MAC-opening victory over Ohio.
• The Falcons are 6-3 at home, 3-5 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site games ... BGSU is averaging 63.6 points per game to the opponents' 65.9 ppg ... the Falcons are shooting 44.1 percent from the field, while allowing the opponents to shoot just 40.3%.
• Individually, junior Nate Miller leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.3 points per game ... he also paces the Falcons in steals (1.7 spg) and assists (2.7 apg), and is second on the squad in rebounding (5.6 rpg) ... Miller has hit double digits in scoring in a team-high 15 of BG's 19 games this year to date.
• Redshirt freshman Chris Knight is second on the team in scoring, and leads the Falcons in rebounding ... Knight has 11.2 points and 7.2 boards per game, and is shooting 45.6% from the field ... Knight's total of 88 field goals made is second on the team, behind Miller's team-leading total of 95 FGM.
• Junior Darryl Clements has 8.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game ... he ranks third on the Falcons in scoring, and is second in steals (1.3 spg), third in assists (2.1 apg) and fourth on the team in rebounding ... junior Brian Moten, who has led the Falcons in scoring in three of the last five games, has 6.8 ppg ... he is shooting 50.0% from the field and 45.9% from the three-point line.
• Freshman Joe Jakubowski is averaging 6.7 points per game ... he is second on the team in assists, with 2.6 per outing ... Jakubowski's total of 50 helpers is just two behind Miller ... the freshman leads the Brown and Orange with 20 three-point field-goals made ... sophomores Otis Polk and Marc Larson and Otis Polk have split time at center, and are averaging 5.3 and 5.2 points per contest, respectively ... Polk has 4.8 rpg, ranking third on the team, and leads the Falcons in blocked shots, with 25 (1.3 bpg) this season to date ... Larson has 2.6 rpg and 1.2 blocked shots per game, and is shooting an even 50.0% from the floor, tied with Moten for the team lead in the latter category.
• Soph Ryan Sims has played in 18 games off the bench, and is averaging 1.3 ppg, while freshman Cameron Madlock has seen action in eight games ... Madlock, who had six points and seven rebounds at Akron, is averaging 1.0 ppg and 1.3 rpg ... sophomore Matt Karaffa made his collegiate debut in the Indiana State contest, and also saw action vs. UA.
• In MAC action, Miller leads the team in scoring, with 12.9 ppg, while Moten and Clements also are in double digits, with 11.3 and 10.1 ppg, respectively ... Knight has 8.0 ppg and a team-high 6.9 rpg, while Jakubowski has 6.7 ppg and Polk 4.7 ... Polk also has 5.9 rpg off the bench.
• BGSU is shooting 42.8% from the field to the opponents' 40.7% in MAC games ... the Falcons have made 84 free throws - four more than the opposition has attempted - in those seven games.
• Clements, Larson and Miller each have started all 19 games to date for first-year BGSU head coach Louis Orr ... Jakubowski has started each of the last 11 games, while Knight has started 18 times, including each of the last eight ... the Falcons went 13-18 overall and 3-13 in MAC play in 2006-07.
A WIN OVER WESTERN MICHIGAN WOULD ...
• give the Falcons a four-game winning streak, BG's longest since a five-game streak early last season (Dec. 16-29, 2006);
• be BGSU's fourth consecutive MAC win, the longest such streak since the Falcons began league play with a 4-0 record in 2004-05 (Jan. 2-12, 2005);
• snap an eight-game losing streak to Western Michigan, as the Falcons have not defeated the Broncos in over six years (since Jan. 30, 2002);
• make the Falcons 6-2 in the MAC, and put BGSU four games over .500 in league play for the first time in nearly three years (since a win over Miami on Feb. 27, 2005, gave BG a 10-6 MAC ledger before the Falcons lost two games to end the regular season); and
• ensure the Brown and Orange - picked for sixth in the East Division in the preseason coaches poll - no worse than a second-place tie after eight conference games.
SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
Western Michigan enters Saturday's game with an overall record of 11-9 ... the Broncos lead the MAC's West Division by two games, with a league mark of 5-2 to date ... the Broncos have won four of the last five games, including Tuesday's (Jan. 29) 100-90, double-overtime victory at Buffalo ... Western is 6-1 at home this year to date, including a 3-0 mark in MAC play at University Arena ... the Broncos' lone home loss was a two-point decision at the hands of Northwestern in early December ... individually, sophomore guard David Kool and senior center Joe Reitz are tied for the scoring lead ... each player has a total of 305 points, for an average of 15.3 per game ... Reitz leads the team in rebounding, with 7.6 per game, while Kool - the reigning MAC West Division Player of the Week - paces the Broncos in steals (1.0 spg) ... junior forward Derek Drews has 8.2 ppg, while junior guard Shawntes Gary has 7.7 ppg ... Kool, Reitz and junior guard Michael Redell (6.0 ppg, a team-leading 4.5 assists per game) each have started all 20 games for head coach Steve Hawkins ... Gary and senior forward Andrew Hershberger (3.1 ppg) join that trio in the probable starting lineup ... Hawkins welcomed back 13 letterwinners, including four starters, from last year's team that finished 16-16 overall and 9-7 in MAC action ... Hawkins, in his fifth season at the Bronco helm, has a record of 87-60 ... he is 224-171 in his 14th season as a collegiate head coach ... the school's athletics web site is www.wmubroncos.com.
THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Western Michigan, 65-40, in the all-time series between the teams ... the Broncos, however, have won eight consecutive meetings ... last season, WMU dealt the Falcons a 72-63 loss at Anderson Arena (Jan. 24, 2007) ... Western has won the last four matchups in Kalamazoo, including an 84-62 win over BG in the teams' last game at University Arena (Jan. 7, 2006) ... BG's last win over the Broncos came on the road, a 78-66 triumph in the 2001-02 season (Jan. 30, 2002) ... the Falcons are 15-37 all-time in road games vs. the Broncos ... the complete list of BGSU-WMU series results can be found on page 62 of the 2007-08 BGSU media guide (available in pdf format at BGSUFalcons.com), and a list of the most recent meetings can be found in the pdf version of these notes at the top of the page.
LAST TIME OUT
Junior Brian Moten scored a game-high 19 points off the bench as Falcons picked up a MAC road win for the first time in over two years, with a 63-53 decision at Ball State Wednesday (Jan. 30) ... fellow juniors Darryl Clements and Nate Miller joined Moten in double digits, with 13 and 12 points, respectively ... freshman Joe Jakubowski added nine points, while sophomore Otis Polk scored eight ... Moten made eight of his nine field-goal attempts on the night, including a 3-for-4 performance from three-point range ... Melvin Goins scored 18 points for the Cardinals, while Anthony Newell added 14 ... Peyton Stovall had a double-double, with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds ... the Falcons shot 56.1 percent from the field for the game, a feat made all the more impressive by the fact that BG made just one of nine shots to begin the night ... after that slow-shooting start, the Brown and Orange went 12-for 15 (80.0%) to end the half, making the final six shot attempts of the period ... BG shot 54.2% in the first half and 58.8% (10-for-17) in the second ... the Falcons held Ball State to a 33.3% field-goal rate for the game ... the Cardinals took an early 6-1 lead, but the Falcons reeled off a 13-0 run, holding BSU without a point for a span of 8:11 ... BG made its last six shots of the half to take a 31-20 lead into the break ... in the second half, the Falcons led by as many as 16 ... a late charge by the Cards cut the margin as close as five points in the final minute, but BG made 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch to salt away the road victory.
A FEW MORE NOTES FROM THE BALL STATE GAME
• The Falcons' win at BSU snapped an overall five-game road losing streak ... BG's last road victory had come at Furman on Nov. 27.
• The BGSU bench outscored the Ball State reserves, 27-2 ... among those BG bench players, junior Brian Moten was 8-for-9 from the floor for a game-high 19 points, while sophomore Otis Polk made 4-of-6 shots for eight points on the night.
• Moten's total of eight field goals made was a career high ... he had season-best totals of 33 minutes played and three three-point field goals made.
• Junior Darryl Clements made a career-high five free throws at BSU ... freshman Joe Jakubowski also had five FTM, the highest total of his young BGSU career.
B-MO GIVES BG MO
Junior Brian Moten provided the Falcons with some momentum in Wednesday's win at Ball State ... Moten scored 19 points, just one off his career best, and shot a blistering 88.9% from the field, going 8-for-9 ... he made his first four shot attempts of the night, including three from beyond the three-point arc ... and, no fewer than three of his made baskets were immediately followed by Ball State timeouts.
B-MO BE HEATING UP
Junior Brian Moten has the ability to score points in bunches, as evidenced on Wednesday night at Ball State ... Moten scored 11 first-half points, hitting his first four shot attempts ... in the second half, he scored four-straight points to give the Falcons a 16-point lead, the largest of the game ... Moten has had seven double-digit scoring games this season, including six in the last eight contests ... he is second on the team in scoring in MAC games, with 11.3 ppg vs. conference foes.
SLOW STARTS, FAST FINISHES
In two of the last three games, the Falcons have overcome slow shooting starts to post victories ... in the Miami contest (Jan. 23), BG went 1-for-7 from the field to begin the game, but finished the first half by making 8-of-16 shots (50.0%) and wound up shooting 45.5% from the field on the night ... one week later at Ball State, the Falcons shot just 11.1% (1-for-9) over the first five-plus minutes of the game, but finished the first half by making 12-of-15 shots (80.0%), including six-straight makes to end the period ... over a span of nearly 35 minutes, BG shot 68.8% from the floor vs. the Cardinals, going 22-for-32 after that 1-for-9 start.
ORR, FALCONS GO 2-0 VS. OTHER FIRST-YEAR MAC COACHES
Louis Orr is one of three first-year head coaches in the MAC ... BGSU just completed back-to-back games against the other two teams coached by first-year MAC mentors, winning both ... Orr and the Falcons picked up a win over Ricardo Patton's Northern Illinois squad on Sunday (63-59; Jan. 27), and BG downed a Billy Taylor-coached Ball State team, 63-53, on Wednesday (Jan. 30).
A COUPLE MORE NOTES FROM THE NIU GAME
• The Falcons' win over Northern Illinois made BGSU a perfect 4-0 in MAC home games this year ... BG has won five-straight games vs. league foes at venerable Anderson Arena, dating to last season.
• BGSU's four home MAC wins is one more than the Falcons had during all of last year ... the Brown and Orange went 3-5 in conference home contests in 2006-07.
• BG's win over NIU snapped the Huskies' three-game series winning streak ... NIU leads the all-time series by a narrow 25-24 margin ... the Falcons are now 17-9 in home games vs. Northern.
AND WHY NOT SOME LEFTOVER NOTES FROM THE MIAMI GAME?
• BGSU has won two consecutive games in the Miami series, and the Falcons have captured 10 of the last 11 home games vs. the RedHawks.
• Juniors Nate Miller and Darryl Clements had very similar stat lines in the game ... both players scored 15 points and had three rebounds, and both were 3-of-5 from three-point range ... Miller and Clements each had two steals to tie for team honors.
• Miami began the game by making its first five field-goal attempts, while holding the Falcons to a 1-for-7 performance during that same span ... MU was 6-for-7 to start the game, but went just 2-for-17 over the remainder of the first half ... the RedHawks were just 1-for-13 over the final 11-plus minutes of the period.
PERFECT 10
The Falcons (and their 10-man active roster) are now 10-0 when leading opponents with 10 minutes left in the game.
THE 800 CLUB
If our math is correct (and there's always a chance that it isn't), Wednesday's game at Ball State was the 800th MAC regular-season game in BGSU men's basketball history ... following that game, the Falcons now have an all-time MAC record of 424-376, for a winning percentage of 53.0%.
MILLER TIME
Junior Nate Miller has emerged as a leader for a Falcon team that is relatively young ... Miller, after being held to a season-low seven points at Akron (Jan. 20), bounced back with double-digit totals in each of BG's last three wins ... he scored 15 points in the Miami game (Jan. 23), had a team-leading 17 against Northern Illinois (Jan. 27) and added 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds at Ball State ... vs. Miami, Miller took over in the second half, scoring eight-straight BG points ... the Springfield, Ohio, native began that stretch by hitting a three-pointer with a defender in his face ... the junior adjusted his shot in midair, adding some arc, and hit the triple to give BG a 47-40 lead ... he converted a transition jumper, then hit another trey ... Miller, who had had an assist on a basket at the end of the first half, drew the defense to him and fed redshirt freshman Chris Knight for a jumper with 23.3 seconds left in the game, giving the Falcons a three-point lead ... Miller tied for game scoring honors, and led the home team in both assists (four) and steals (two - tied for team lead) ... he hit a career-high three three-pointers in Wednesday's win ... against NIU, Miller had a game-high total of five assists ... Miller made a key shot at BSU, dribbling most of the 35-second possession time off the clock before draining a three-pointer from dead center, giving the Brown and Orange a 14-point lead with under nine minutes left ... Miller has 15 double-digit scoring games in BG's 19 contests, and is averaging a team-high 13.3 points per game.
FALCONS GETTING TO THE LINE
In four of the Falcons' seven MAC games to date, BG has allowed the opponent to make six or fewer free throws ... Ohio, Akron and Miami made six each, while Northern Illinois was 2-for-2 in the entirety of Wednesday's (Jan. 27) game ... in league play to date, the Falcons have made more free throws than the opponents have attempted ... BG is 84-for-139 from the stripe in those seven games, while the opposition is 54-for-80.
MANY WAYS TO FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• All BGSU men's basketball games are aired on the Falcon Sports Radio Network, with Todd Walker calling the action ... former Falcon standout Kirk Cowan provides color commentary at home games ... stations on the network in the greater Bowling Green include WCWA-AM 1230 (Toledo), WPFX-FM 107.7 (Findlay/North Baltimore) and WBUK-FM 106.3 (Ottawa).
• Student station WBGU-FM 88.1, the flagship for BG hockey and women's basketball, carries men's basketball games when there is not a conflict with one of the aforementioned sports ... the announcers vary by game.
• Nearly every home game is televised in the Toledo area by the Buckeye Cable Sports Network (BCSN) ... a number of BGSU's other 2007-08 games are scheduled to be televised as well ... the Falcons' Feb. 10 home game vs. Toledo will be shown on ESPNU ... BG's Feb. 13 contest at Eastern Michigan is scheduled to be aired by Comcast Local ... the Feb. 19 game at Ohio will be part of the ESPN Full Court package, and the Falcons' final regular-season game, at Miami on March 9, will be aired by FSN Ohio and has been changed to a noon start.
FALCONS PICKED FOR SIXTH
The Falcons were picked to finish sixth in the Mid-American Conference's East Division in the 2007-08 preseason poll ... the poll is the result of voting by members of the MAC News Media Association ... BGSU received 47 points in the poll, five fewer than Buffalo ... Kent State was the voters' choice to win the East Division, narrowly beating out Miami for that honor ... Ohio and Akron were tabbed to place third and fourth, respectively, followed by UB and BGSU ... Western Michigan was picked to win the West Division, nearly 30 points ahead of Toledo ... KSU received seven votes to win the MAC Tournament, while WMU received six and Ohio and Miami five apiece ... the Falcons received one vote to win the league tourney, which will be held at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland from March 12-15, 2008.
UP NEXT
Following the WMU game, the Falcons will return home for the next two games, beginning with Wednesday's (Feb. 6) contest against Central Michigan ... then, the Brown and Orange will host arch-rival Toledo next Sunday afternoon (Feb. 10), with the bright lights and big cameras of ESPNU inside venerable Anderson Arena ... BG then concludes cross-divisional play with a game at Eastern Michigan on Wednesday, Feb. 13.
