Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons To Face Ohio University In Saturday Matinee
January 22, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 22, 2009
Game #18
Bowling Green (8-9, 1-3 MAC East) at Ohio (10-7, 3-1 MAC East)
Jan. 24, 2009 • Athens, Ohio (Convocation Center) • 2:00 p.m.
Radio: Falcon Radio Network • Todd Walker
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
SETTING THE STAGE
• The Bowling Green State University men's basketball is looking to snap a three-game losing streak on the road against Ohio University. Ohio is the only MAC team to remain unbeaten at home on the year and has won 21 of its last 22 games in the Convocation Center.
• Bowling Green is 66-57 in 123 meetings all-time against Ohio but the Bobcats have won the last four home games. The two teams split last year's season series with each squad winning on its own home court.
• The Falcons are still looking for their first road victory and have played just one game away from Anderson Arena so far in January. That was a 72-48 loss to Kent State 10 days ago in which BGSU was tied at the half but scored just 15 second half points.
THE OPENING TIP (STORYLINES)
• The contest will feature the MAC's two top-assisting point guards as Bowling Green's Joe Jakubowski goes head-to-head with Ohio's Michael Allen. Jakubowski has led the conference for much of the year but Allen recently passed him and has two more assists on the year (70-68).
• The Falcons have been outscored in the second half in each of their past four contests but BGSU did get a spark late in the game against Miami that could create more confidence. After giving up the first 11 points of the second half to the RedHawks, Bowling Green cut a 15-point deficit to just one with about three minutes remaining in the game. Miami was able to squeek out the win, but the Falcons showed determination and energy down the stretch.
• Ohio senior forward Justin Orr is the nephew of Bowling Green head coach Louis Orr. Justin Orr is averaging 10.6 points per game this year but was held to identical lines of four points in 22 minutes in two games against his uncle a year ago.
SCOUTING OHIO
• Ohio enters the game with a 10-7 overall record and is tied with Buffalo and Miami atop the MAC East at 3-1. The Bobcats are 7-0 at home this year and their only conference loss was a 70-66 defeat at Buffalo, a team BGSU beat at home to open conference play. The team has built confidence and gotten on a roll lately with five of its last seven games at home.
• Ohio's .716 free-throw percentage is the best in the Mid-American Conference and the Bobcats also shoot a conference-leading .393 from three-point range. Ohio, however, is not a great rebounding team and ranks 11th in the conference in offensive rebounding.
• Jerome Tillman has been named MAC East Player of the Week twice in the last three weeks and leads the conference at 19.6 points per game. He ranks second in the MAC with 9.2 rebounds per contest, third with a .527 field-goal percentage, and has six double-doubles this year. Point guard Michael Allen has surpassed BG's Joe Jakubowski as the conference leader in assists with 4.1 per game. Both Justin Orr and Steven Coleman are capable of scoring in bunches, averaging 10.6 and 10.1 points respectively.
SCHEDULE CHANGE
• Bowling Green's home contest against Kent State has been moved up to a 6:30 p.m. start to accomodate an Fox Sports Ohio television broadcast of the game.
GOOD KNIGHT
Chris Knight has been named MAC East Player of the Week twice in the past four weeks. Most recently he was awarded after he scored 17 first half points, and finished with 22 for the game, as Bowling Green opened up an early lead and held on for an 86-82 win over Buffalo in the team's MAC opener. Knight was also named MAC East Player of the Week Dec. 29 after averaging 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in leading the Falcons to a pair of wins. He is the only BGSU player to be named conference player of the week this year and it is the third time in his career he has received the award. Knight received the honor a year ago after being named MVP of the Peggy Cronin Classic in Cincinnati.
TRACKING FALCON MILESTONES
A number of BGSU players are closing in on career milestones or have recently reached them:
• Darryl Clements scored 11 points against Akron to reach 500 for his career. He attempted his 100th career free-throw against Buffalo, qualifying him for BGSU's career leaderboard in free-throw percentage. With his .810 percentage rate, he ranks ninth in school history at the charity stripe. Clements also needs seven rebounds to reach 250 in his career.
• Joe Jakubowski picked up the 150th assist in his career against Buffalo. He needs 11 more points for 400 and four more steals for 50.
• Chris Knight scored 15 points against Kent State to reach 400 for his career.
• Erik Marschall needs 13 points for 500 in his career.
• With nine points against Eastern Illinois, Nate Miller went over 800 for his career (now at 882). He needs to average 9.1 points during the rest of the regular season to become the 37th player in program history to score 1,000. At his current pace of 11.6 points per game, he would reach the mark March 1 at Akron.
• Brian Moten needs one made three-pointer to move into the top 10 in program history and two to become just the 10th Falcon to make 100 for a career. With his next game action, he will play his 100th career game, being the first player to reach that total since Matt Lefeld played in 105 games from 2003-07. With five rebounds against Buffalo, he reached 150 for his career.
• Otis Polk moved into fourth place in career blocks at Bowling Green with his 106th against Miami. He needs one more to move into a tie for third and 11 more to tie BGSU's all-time record of 117.
RISING STOCK
Bowling Green's returners worked hard in the offseason to develop their games. That work has paid off in three visible areas -- scoring, rebounding, and free-throw percentage. The Falcons are averaging 3.0 points per game more than a year ago and are shooting .699 from the free-throw line, as opposed to .633 in 2007-08. Finally, BG was outrebounded by 2.6 boards per game last year, but has flipped that stat and is now outrebounding opponents by 2.4 in 2008-09.
THREE'S THE KEY
Three-pointers made has been a remarkable indicator of success in Bowling Green contests this year. The team that has made the most three-pointers has won 15 of the 17 games this year. BG is 8-2 when making more three's than its opponent and is 0-7 when the opponent makes more. The only games in which three-pointers did not determine the winner was in Bowling Green's 67-65 loss to Central Arkansas and in the Falcons' 67-60 loss to Miami.
BLOCK PARTY, HOSTED BY OTIS
Junior Otis Polk blocked two shots against Duquesne to become just the fifth player in program history with 100 career blocked shots and moved into fourth place with his 106th block against Miami. He ranks second in the MAC in blocked shots this year and is just 11 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.
KNIGHT TIME
Sophomore forward Chris Knight has begun to show signs of the potential he flashed as a freshman in 2007-08. After missing the first three games of the 2008-09 season, Knight scored just 15 points over the next six games, averaging 2.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. But in the last seven contests, he has averaged 10.8 points and 6.8 rebounds, posting the only Falcon double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds against Eastern Illinois. He grabbed 14 rebounds against Fordham, five on the offensive glass, and scored 17 first-half points in BGSU's MAC opener against Buffalo, finishing with 22 points on the afternoon.
DEEP THINKING
Bowling Green's depth has been critical to success in 2008-09 and the Falcons' bench has contributed in a big way this year. BGSU's bench has scored in double-figures in 15 consecutive games, scoring at least 40 points twice (in wins over Wayne State and Buffalo). The Falcons are averaging 24.8 points per game from their bench this year, compared to just 16.7 points per game for opponents. The Bowling Green bench has outscored its opponent in 12 consecutive games and 14-of-17 contests overall.
DEFENSE WINS
• Bowling Green has bucked down defensively in 2008-09, holding 13-of-17 opponents to less than 45 percent shooting, allowing less than 70 points 12 times. It is a critical stat because the Falcons are just 2-10 under head coach Louis Orr when an opponent shoots 45 percent or better. BG leads the MAC in field goal percentage defense and blocked shots, ranking third in the conference in three-point percentage defense.
• Bowling Green is on pace to post a historically significant season defensively. The Falcons' .400 field goal percentage defense allowed is the best total since the 1963-64 team held opponents to a .390 clip for the year. As well, the team's 64.1 points per game allowed is the best average since the 1991-92 team allowed 64.0 points per contest.
• Bowling Green's defensive prowess 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).
A TALE OF TWO HALVES
While Bowling Green has excelled in the first half of most of its contests this year, the Falcons have struggled at times in the second half. BGSU has been ahead or tied at the break in five of its losses this year. Bowling Green is holding opponents to 36 percent shooting in the first half of games this year but opponents are shooting 44 percent in the second half.
Half Scoring Margin FG% FGA%
1st +5.6 222/503 (.441) 168/469 (.358)
2nd -3.3 191/471 (.406) 202/456 (.443)
LEADERS OF THE MAC
The Falcons lead the MAC in four team stats, posting the top field-goal percent defensive unit in the conference, allowing opponents to shoot just .400. The team also leads the MAC in blocked shots (4.47 per game), assists (14.24 per game) and assist/turnover ratio (1.10).
MAKING THINGS INTERESTING
Bowling Green has played a number of games this year that have been decided in the final possessions. The most exciting of those games was a 77-76 overtime win against Georgia State in the season opener. Darryl Clements and Brian Moten made three-pointers in the final 15 seconds of regulation to force overtime and Joe Jakubowski knocked down a 25-foot three-pointer as the buzzer sounded in the extra session for the win. 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. In a 57-54 loss to Savannah State, BGSU led until the final 1:17 of the contest and missed on two attempts to tie the game in the final 60 seconds. Likewise, in the Falcons' 67-65 loss to Central Arkansas, Bowling Green led until the final 1:19 and lost on a tip-in with just 0.2 seconds to play. BG beat Fordham in Anderson Arena 65-59 by getting a Nate Miller jumper with 48 seconds to play and a pair of Moten free-throws with nine seconds left to ice the contest. In the team's MAC opener, Jakubowski and Clements went 3-for-4 from the free-throw line in the final 11 seconds as the Falcons beat Buffalo 86-82.
WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE (THAT ROARS)
Anderson Arena has always been a difficult place for opponents and the Falcons are 6-2 at home in 2008-09, beating teams by an average of 10.3 points per game. BG is off to its best start at home since the 2004-05 team opened the year with seven wins in its first eight games in "The House That Roars" and the Falcons are 443-178 (.713) all-time in Anderson Arena and 157-52 (.751) in the past 16 years.
WINNING EARLY
Bowling Green had six wins by the team the calendar turned to 2009. Since the 2002-03 season, the Falcons have won more games than that before the turn of the new year just once. The 2006-07 team had nine wins when Jan. 1 struck and last year's team had just five wins by that time.
HITTIN' THE BOOKS
Sophomore point guard Joe Jakubowski was named the Mid-American Conference's Male Scholar Athlete of the Week Dec. 18. He had 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in the team's 58-38 win over Detroit and has maintained a 3.56 grade point average entering the fall semester. The MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week is presented to a male and female student-athlete who has a cumulative gpa of 3.0 or better and performed well during the previous week's competition.
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.
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 882 points in his BG career.
CAN IT GET ANY TOUGHER?
Although Bowling Green went 7-6 in its first 13 non-conference games, the opponents that the Falcons faced will make them stronger in MAC play. BGSU's six non-conference losses have come against teams with a combined record of 74-34. Minnesota is ranked No. 21 in the AP Top 25 and No. 20 in the ESPN/USA Today poll, while Ohio State is receiving votes in both polls. Illinois State is also ranked fifth in the Mid-Major Top 25 poll.
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.
CATCH THE FALCONS
• Bowling Green's men's basketball games can be listened to through the Falcon Sports Radio Network with Todd Walker, the voice of the Falcons, handling the play-by-play duties. Former Bowling Green basketball player Kirk Cowan does the color commentary at all BGSU home games as well. All but four games can be heard on WFRO 99.1 FM and the others can be heard on WOHF 92.1 FM (Jan. 28 vs. Ball State, Feb. 4 vs. Western Michigan, Feb. 11 at Toledo, and Feb. 18 at Buffalo). As well, all games can be heard on WCSM 1350 AM/96.7 FM in Celina, WONW 1280 AM in Defiance, and WCWA 1230 AM in Toledo.
• BGSU men's basketball coach Louis Orr appears on the Falcons' Nest Coaches Show on select Monday evenings, hosted by Todd Walker. The show runs from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., and is scheduled for live broadcast from Fricker's in Bowling Green (1720 E. Wooster Street).
• All game broadcasts and the Falcons Nest Coaches Show can also be heard via live stream on the official site of Falcon athletics, www.BGSUfalcons.com. Shortly after broadcasts are complete, an archived stream is available to listen to as well.
• 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 www.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.
