Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Make Quick Preparations For Towson
December 22, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2008
Bowling Green, Ohio -
Game #10
Bowling Green (4-5) vs. Towson (5-5)
Dec. 22, 2008 • Bowling Green, Ohio (Anderson Arena) • 7:00 p.m.
Radio: Falcon Radio Network • Todd Walker/Kirk Cowan
SETTING THE STAGE
• The Bowling Green State University men's basketball will try to remain unbeaten at home in the 2008-09 campaign as the Falcons host Towson Monday evening. BGSU is 2-0 in Anderson Arena this year, while Towson is 2-3 on the road, winning each of their last two contests away from home over Maryland Baltimore Country and High Point.
• The game marks the first meeting between the two programs. Towson is a member of the Colonial Athletic Association and BGSU is 7-1 against other members of that conference all-time, including this year's 77-76 overtime victory against Georgia State.
THE OPENING TIP (STORYLINES)
• Although road wins have been difficult to come by this year for Bowling Green, the Falcons have been perfect at home, winning their two contests in Anderson Arena by an average of 26.0 points. BG held Detroit to just 38 points in the last home game -- the lowest total for a BGSU opponent in 44 years.
• BG is still learning to win close games. After a tremendous effort to win the season-opener over Georgia State in overtime, the Falcons have lost all four games that have been decided by seven points or less.
• Bowling Green plays four of its next five contests at home, including the MAC opener against Buffalo Jan. 10 at 2 p.m. In fact, after this stretch of games, BG plays at Kent State and then returns home for two more games in Anderson Arena.
SCOUTING TOWSON
• Towson enters the game at 5-5 and 0-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Tigers are 2-1 on the road and ended High Point's 22-game home winning streak against non-conference opponents in their last game.
• Junior Hairston leads the team, averaging 14.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Both Troy Franklin and Josh Thornton are also scoring in double figures at 11.5 and 10.8 points respectively.
• Towson relies heavily on the three-point shot, attempting just over 23 per game, making an average of eight a contest. The Tigers have struggled inside and are being outrebounded by 5.4 per game, ranking last in the CAA in that category.
TRACKING FALCON MILESTONES
A number of BGSU players are closing in on career milestones or have recently reached them:
• Darryl Clements needs 58 points to reach 500 for his career.
• Joe Jakubowski needs four three-pointers to make 50 for his career.
• Marc Larson needs five points for 200 in his career. With nine more minutes, he will have played 1,000 in his three years at BGSU.
• Erik Marschall needs 40 points for 500 in his career.
• With 12 points against Savannah State, Nate Miller went over 750 for his career (now at 792). He went over the 400 rebound mark and the 100 steal plateau against Detroit and had four assists against Central Arkansas to go over 150.
• With six points against Central Arkansas, Otis Polk went over 250 in his career. He needs six blocked shots to become just the fifth player in program history to reach 100 in a career. He also needs 10 rebounds to reach 250.
WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE (THAT ROARS)
Anderson Arena has always been a difficult place for opponents and the Falcons are beating teams by an average of 26.0 points per game at home in 2008-09. 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. The Falcons are 439-176 (.714) all-time in Anderson Arena and 153-50 (.754) in the past 16 years.
DEFENSE WINS
• Bowling Green has buckled down defensively in 2008-09 and that has not been more apparent than in the Falcons' win over Detroit. The Titans scored just 38 points, the lowest point total for a BGSU opponent since an 87-37 Bowling Green win over Western Ontario on Feb. 1, 1964. As well, the Titans shot just 22.7 percent from the field and had just two assists. Both of those stats were the lowest BG opponent totals since game-by-game boxscores have been archived (1987-88 season).
• BGSU has held eight of its nine opponents to less than 45 percent shooting, allowing less than 70 points seven times. Under head coach Louis Orr, BGSU is just 1-9 when an opponent shoots 45 percent or better (1-8 in 2007-08). BG leads the MAC in field goal percentage defense and blocked shots, ranking in the top four in the conference in scoring defense and steals.
• Bowling Green is on pace to post a historically significant season defensively. The Falcons' 61.6 points per game allowed is the best average since the 1961-62 team allowed 61.4 points per game. As well, the team's .377 field goal percentage allowed is the best total since the 1962-63 team allowed opponents to shoot .375 for the year.
BLOCK PARTY, HOSTED BY OTIS
Junior Otis Polk moved into fifth place on BGSU's career blocked shot leaderboard with eight in the past four games, including four against Illinois State. He ranks first in the MAC in blocked shots this year and his 94 career blocks are just 23 behind all-time leader Tom Hall, with 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.
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 season's opening 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.
CAN IT GET ANY TOUGHER?
Although Bowling Green is just 4-5 in its first nine games, the opponents that the Falcons faced will make them stronger once MAC play begins. BGSU's five losses have come against teams with a combined record of 42-8. Three of those teams -- Minnesota, Ohio State, and Illinois State -- are still undefeated. In fact, Ohio State is now ranked No. 17 in the AP Top 25. Minnesota is receving votes in The AP Top 25 and Illinois State is receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today poll.
CATCH THE FALCONS
• BGSU men's basketball coach Louis Orr appears on the Falcons' Nest Coaches Show on select Monday evenings. 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).
• 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 season.
• 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.
