Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Make Long Trip To Savannah State For Monday Night Tilt
November 29, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 29, 2008
Bowling Green, Ohio -
Game #6
Bowling Green (3-2) at Savannah State (4-1)
Dec. 1, 2008 • Savannah, Ga. (Tiger Arena) • 7:30 p.m.
Radio: Falcon Radio Network • Todd Walker
Savannah State Game Notes in PDF Format 
SETTING THE STAGE
• The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team hits the road for the third consecutive weekend to play 4-1 Savannah State. The Tigers won their first four contests before being blown out by Clemson.
• The game marks the first meeting between the two programs. Savannah State is one of 11 independents playing NCAA Division I in 2008-09. The Falcons are 1-0, with a win over Chicago State, against those 11 current independents all-time.
• Both of Bowling Green's losses have come against Big Ten opponents and both came down to the wire. BGSU will look for a 4-2 start for the third consecutive season.
THE OPENING TIP (STORYLINES)
• Bowling Green will attempt to bounce back from a loss as impressively as it did after its only other loss (against Minnesota) by winning back-to-back games by at least 20 points. A week ago, the Falcons led Ohio State with less than six minutes to play, but were unable to close out the Buckeyes.
• BGSU has turned up its defensive intensity in 2008-09, holding opponents to just 39 percent shooting. As well, the Falcons have forced more turnovers than they have committed in all five games this year. Savannah State had held opponents to 38 percent shooting until Clemson hit on 51 percent of its attempts. The Tigers are also +3.2 on turnovers per game.
• Senior Darryl Clements continues to impress with increased confidence and improvement compared to a year ago. He has scored in double figures in four consecutive games, has doubled his scoring average from a year ago (14.4 points compared to 7.2 in 2007-08) and is averaging more than four assists and five rebounds per contest. He also leads the team with 11 steals.
• Senior Brian Moten has become the Falcons' most consistent scorer, posting double digit totals in each of the first five games and eight of nine games dating back to last year. He has made the most three-pointers on the team and is shooting 80 percent from the free-throw line.
SCOUTING SAVANNAH STATE
• Savannah State is 4-1 with victories over Brewton Parker, North Florida, Coastal Carolina and New Orleans. Following those wins, the Tigers lost to Clemson 81-49. Savannah State also plays Michigan Saturday, Nov. 29.
• Freshman forward Rashad Hassan has been a force for the Tigers, averaging 12.8 points and 5.4 rebounds on 64 percent shooting through five games. He is the only Savannah State player averaging double figures in scoring this year.
• Savannah State went 14-18 in 2007-08 but lost two of its top four scorers.
MAKING THINGS INTERESTING
Three of Bowling Green's first five games have been decided in the final five minutes. The most exciting of those games was a 77-76 overtime win against Georgia State to open the season. Darryl Clements and Brian Moten made three-pointers in the final 15 seconds of regulation just to force overtime and Joe Jakubowski knocked down a 25-foot three-pointer as the buzzer sounded in the extra session for the win. In a loss to Minnesota, Bowling Green trailed by three and had possession of the basketball with under three minutes to play. Against Ohio State, Bowling Green led with six minutes to play but the Buckeyes scored eight straight late to come away with a four-point victory.
WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE (THAT ROARS)
Anderson Arena has always been a difficult place for opponents and the Falcons opened the building in 2008-09 by defeating Wayne State by 32 points. Bowling Green made "The House That Roars" especially tough on conference foes a year ago, going 6-2. Those six victories included wins over the teams picked to finish first (Kent State), second (Miami) and third (Ohio) in the East Division preseason poll. In fact, the team was roughly two minutes away from a perfect home record in MAC action, losing to Central Michigan in overtime and to Akron by nine points. CMU forced overtime on a putback with 0.9 seconds left in regulation, while Bowling Green led Akron with just over two minutes remaining and trailed by just one point with under a minute left.
RISING STOCK
Two of the contributing factors to Bowling Green's fast start are the Falcons improvement in scoring and in free-throw shooting. BGSU is averaging almost eight more points per game than a year ago and is shooting free-throws at a 76.0 percent clip, a huge improvement over 63.3 percent in 2007-08.
THE SCORING TOUCH
Senior Brian Moten has become the Falcons' most consistent scoring option in 2008-09, posting at least 10 points in every game this year. He scored a season-high 21 points against Concordia St. Paul and has made at least two three-pointers in every game this year. Dating back to last year, he has scored in double figures in nine of 10 contests. Moten now has 25 career games with 10+ points and three with 20 or more points.
CLEMENTS' CAREER WEEKEND
Senior guard Darryl Clements was named to the NABC Classic All-Tournament team after setting his new career scoring high not just one time, but twice during the weekend. Clements made a crucial three-pointer with 15 seconds remaining in regulation that helped pushed the season opener against Georgia State to overtime -- a game the Falcons eventually won. He then scored a career-high 19 points in the team's loss to Minnesota, before pumping home 22 in BGSU's win over Concordia St. Paul. He also led Bowling Green in assists, steals and field goal percentage during the weekend.
BLOCK PARTY, HOSTED BY OTIS
Junior Otis Polk moved into a tie for seventh place on BGSU's career blocked shot leaderboard with a pair of blocks against Ohio State. His 86 career blocks are just 31 shy of Tom Hall's school record of 117 from 1989-92. A year ago, he had four blocks in four different games, ending the season with 51, the second highest single-season total in Bowling Green history. Cornelius Cash set the mark with 59 blocks in 1973-74.
MILLER TABBED TO SOAR
Bowling Green senior Nate Miller was selected to the Preseason All-Mid-American Conference Team, by vote of the MAC News Media Association, as well as the league's 12 head men's basketball coaches. Miller was joined on the East preseason team by Akron's Nate Linhart, Kent State's Al Fisher, Miami's Michael Bramos, and Ohio's Jerome Tillman. A transfer from UNC Wilmington, Miller has 719 points in his BG career.
THE MEDIA SAYS THIRD
The Bowling Green men's basketball team was picked to finish third in the Mid-American Conference's East Division in 2008-09 by vote of the MAC News Media Association. The Falcons received 70 points in the poll, trailing only Kent State (124) and Miami (109) in the East. Western Michigan was picked to win the West, followed by Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan. Bowling Green also received two votes as the favorite to win the MAC Tournament.
NAVIGATING THE SCHEDULE
Bowling Green will play a total of 14 games in "The House That Roars" in 2008-09. Along with the regular conference slate, BGSU hosted Wayne State in its home opener (an 80-48 win) and will welcome Detroit, Towson, Eastern Illinois, and Fordham to Anderson Arena. The Falcons will also play a yet-to-be-determined opponent at home in an ESPNU BracketBusters contest. BG will play road non-conference games against Savannah State, Illinois State, Central Arkansas, and Duquesne. The Falcons already played three road/neutral site games in Minneapolis, Minn. at the NABC Classic and then traveled to Columbus to play Ohio State.
REVVIN' UP THE ENGINE
Bowling Green prepared for the 2008-09 regular season by defeating NCAA Division II Ashland University 87-63 in a home exhibition game Nov. 8. Nate Miller came off the bench to score a game-high 19 points and he added six assists, four steals and four rebounds. Erik Marschall came up one rebound shy of a double-double in his return from injury, posting 11 points and nine rebounds. Brian Moten fired up 18 points and added four steals as the Falcons pestered Ashland into 32 turnovers. Bowling Green added eight blocked shots but the Falcons will look to improve on its performance from the free-throw line, where BGSU went just 8-for-21.
FRESH FACES
Head coach Louis Orr announced the signing of two players for the 2009-10 season during the early signing period. Luke Kraus, of Findlay, Ohio (Findlay HS), and Danny McElroy, of Cincinnati, Ohio (La Salle HS), will join the Falcons next year. Kraus is a two-time player of the year in the Greater Buckeye Conference and McElroy is a tenacious defender who averaged 14.2 points and seven rebounds per game as a junior. Those two will join transfers Darion Goins and Adrion Graves, both of which are sitting out the 2008-09 season due to transfer rules.
MAC COACHES TELECONFERENCE
The MAC men's basketball coaches will hold a teleconference for the media four times throughout the season. Each coach will be available for approximately seven minutes on Jan. 8, Jan. 26, Feb. 16 and March 9, with BGSU Coach Louis Orr scheduled to be on the call from 11:21 to 11:28 a.m. Eastern Time. Media representatives wishing to participate should contact the MAC office for the telephone access number of the live call or the replay of the call in its entirety.
FALCONS' NEST COACHES SHOW
BGSU men's basketball coach Louis Orr appears on the Falcons' Nest Coaches Show each Monday evening. The show runs from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., and normally is scheduled for live broadcast from Fricker's in Bowling Green (1720 E. Wooster Street).
THAT'S THE TICKET
BGSU men's basketball coach Louis Orr will talk live on 1470 WLQR "The Ticket" throughout the year. He is scheduled to be on host Norm Wamer's show Tuesday afternoons at 4:30 p.m. to discuss the team.
FOLLOW THE FALCONS
Live statistics for all BGSU home men's basketball games are available on the web via Gametracker. Gametracker allows fans to view in-game stats as they occur, and may be accessed by going to the official site of Falcon athletics, BGSUFalcons.com. Falcon fans can utilize Gametracker for home events in numerous BGSU sports, including football, men's and women's basketball, hockey, men's and women's soccer, volleyball, baseball and softball.
