Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Have Five-Game Win Streak In Sight
February 06, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 6, 2009
Game #22
Bowling Green (12-9, 5-3 MAC East) at Central Michigan (6-14, 3-5 MAC West)
Feb. 7, 2009 • Mount Pleasant, Mich. (Rose Arena) • 7:00 p.m.
Radio: Falcon Radio Network • Todd Walker
Television: None
Complete Release in PDF Format 
SETTING THE STAGE
• The Bowling Green men's basketball team carries its longest winning streak of the season into Saturday's road game at Central Michigan. The Falcons have won four consecutive games, including two on the road, and are 3-0 against Mid-American Conference West Division opponents.
• BG is 35-29 in 64 all-time meetings against Central Michigan but have lost two straight. The Falcons have not won in Mount Pleasant since defeating the Chippewas 77-73 on Jan. 26, 2005.
• This is the fourth of six games against MAC West opponents with the Falcons winning the first three by an average of 6.3 points per game. Central Michigan is 4-4 at home and BGSU is 2-7 on the road but has won two straight.
THE OPENING TIP (STORYLINES)
• Bowling Green's four game winning streak is the team's longest since winning five straight in Dec. 2006. The Falcons have not won four consecutive Mid-American Conference games since Jan. 2005. If BGSU defeats Central Michigan, it would be the program's longest MAC winning streak since winning six straight during the 2000-01 season.
• Bowling Green's defense has keyed the Falcons' four-game win streak. The team held opponents to 57.8 points per game and just 38.9 percent shooting during the stretch. As well, BG has cleaned up the boards, outrebounding opponents by 5.0 per contest.
• With five blocked shots against Western Michigan, Otis Polk has put himself in position to become Bowling Green's all-time blocked shot leader at any time. He has 113 career blocks and is just four shy of tying the school record, five away from breaking the record. His 32 blocked shots this year already rank as the 11th best single season in program history despite having nine regular season games remaining plus the postseason.
SCOUTING CENTRAL MICHIGAN
• Although Central Michigan has been inconsistent, the Chippewas have shown the ability to beat anybody in the MAC, defeating West Division leader Ball State in its first run through the division. The Chippewas are also one of only two West teams to have beaten an East Division team this year, picking up a 76-69 win over Ohio.
• Central Michigan has struggled defensively this year and the Chippewas rank in the bottom two in the conference in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense, three-point percentage defense, and rebounding. However, the team does force turnovers, leading the MAC in steals.
• The Chippewas added a substantial threat when Jordan Bitzer became eligible at semester break. He has played 12 games since getting back on the court and leads the MAC in steals in conference games (2.75 per game), ranks second in three-pointers made in conference games, third in free-throw percentage in conference games, and fourth at 15.8 points per game in conference contests. His outside scoring and Marcus Van's inside play have been difficult for opposing teams to combat. Van ranks second in the MAC in rebounding and blocked shots and third in field goal percentage.
SCHEDULE CHANGES
• Bowling Green will host Canisius on Feb. 21 for the seventh annual ESPNU BracketBusters series. The game with start at 2 p.m. and the Falcons will play a return game at Canisius in either November of December of the 2009-10 season as part of the contract for BracketBusters.
• Bowling Green's home contest against Kent State has been moved to a 6:30 p.m. start to accomodate a Fox Sports Ohio television broadcast of the game.
• The Falcons' game at Akron on March 1 is now scheduled for a 12 p.m. start time for a Fox Sports Ohio television broadcast.
JAKUBOWSKI AND LARSON HONORED FOR ACADEMICS
Junior center Marc Larson and sophomore point guard Joe Jakubowski were both named to the ESPN The Magazine CoSIDA Academic All-District Team. Among the eight University (NCAA Division I) all-district teams around the country, Bowling Green was one of only four schools to have more than one player listed. To be eligible for the award, athletes must have at least a 3.3 grade point average, be at least a sophomore and have been at their current school for at least a year. Both players will now be placed on the ballot for Academic All-American.
MILLER'S SURGE TO 1,000
As Nate Miller gets closer and closer to 1,000 career points, he keeps increasing his production. He has scored seven or more points in 11 straight games and has scored 15 or more in five of the past six contests. He had his 50th career double-digit scoring game against Ohio and went over 900 career points against Ball State, currently sitting at 940. At his current pace of 12.3 points per game, he would become the 37th player in BG history to reach 1,000 career points when the Falcons host Canisius for the ESPNU BracketBusters game Feb. 21 at 2 p.m.
THE TOURNEY LOOMS
With Mid-American Conference play halfway over, Bowling Green will begin to position itself for a run at the MAC Tournament. The top seed for the MAC Tourney will go to the division winner with the best record and the No. 2 seed will go to the other division winner. From there, seeds are determined based on conference record with no regard to divisions. The top four seeds all get a bye to the quarterfinals. Currently, the Falcons are tied with Akron for fourth place, but would receive the No. 5 seed if the tournament were to start today based on tiebreak procedures. As the No. 5 seed, Bowling Green would face the bottom seed in the opening round for the right to play the No. 4 seed in the quarterfinals.
TRACKING FALCON MILESTONES
A number of BGSU players are closing in on career milestones or have recently reached them:
• With his first action against Central Michigan, Darryl Clements will play in his 100th career game. With classmate Brian Moten, the pair will be the first Falcon teammates to have played in 100 games since Brent Klassen, Len Matela and Keith McLeod all reached the mark in the 2001-02 season. Clements needs three more assists for 200 and when he gets to that mark, he will be the first Falcon with 500 career points, 250 career rebounds and 200 career assists since Steven Wright (2003-06).
• Joe Jakubowski needs two more steals for 50 in his career.
• Chris Knight picked up his 300th career rebound against Western Michigan and is 67 points shy of 500.
• Erik Marschall went over 500 career points in the team's win over Northern Illinois and is six rebounds away from 300.
• Nate Miller went over 900 career points in the team's win over Ball State and currently sits at 940. He needs to average 6.7 points during the rest of the regular season to become the 37th player in program history to score 1,000. He is also just 12 rebounds from 500 and needs four steals to move into the top 10 in program history.
• Brian Moten became the 10th player in program history to make 100 career three-pointers with the first of two against Northern Illinois. With his action against Ohio, he played in his 100th career game, becoming the first player to reach that total since Matt Lefeld played in 105 games from 2003-07.
• Otis Polk moved into third place in career blocks at Bowling Green against Northern Illinois and now sits at 113. He needs four more to tie BGSU's all-time record of 117. He also reached 300 career rebounds against Western Michigan.
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 third place against Northern Illinois. He set a career-high with five blocks against Western Michigan to push his career total to 113. He ranks third in the MAC in blocked shots this year and is just four 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.
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 19 consecutive games, scoring at least 40 points twice (in wins over Wayne State and Buffalo). The Falcons are averaging 24.0 points per game from their bench this year, compared to just 16.7 points per game for opponents. The Bowling Green bench outscored its opponent in 15 consecutive games prior to Wednesday's game against Western Michigan and 17-of-21 contests overall.
QUADRUPLE THREAT
Bowling Green has four active players who have scored at least 500 points in their career, the most on a BG team at one time since the 2003-04 team also had four. Nate Miller, Brian Moten, Darryl Clements, and Erik Marschall have all scored 500 career points with Marschall reaching the mark against Northern Illinois. BG has two other players -- Chris Knight and Joe Jakubowski -- who have passed 400 career points. The last time Falcon fans watched four players with 500 career points all play in the same game came March 11, 2004 against Kent State when Ron Lewis, Kevin Netter, John Reimold, and Josh Almanson all saw action.
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 2.3 points per game more than a year ago and are shooting .701 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 2.9 in 2008-09.
KNIGHT TIME
Over the past 12 games, sophomore forward Chris Knight has been living up to 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 12 contests, he has averaged 8.9 points and 6.3 rebounds, posting the first 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. He has been named MAC East Player of the Week twice during the stretch.
DEFENSE WINS
• Bowling Green has bucked down defensively in 2008-09, holding 16-of-21 opponents to less than 45 percent shooting, allowing less than 70 points 16 times. It is a critical stat because the Falcons are just 3-10 under head coach Louis Orr when an opponent shoots 45 percent or better. BG leads the MAC in blocked shots and ranks second in field goal percentage defense.
• Bowling Green is on pace to post a historically significant season defensively. The Falcons' .398 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 62.9 points per game allowed is the best average since the 1962-63 team allowed 62.3 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).
LEADERS OF THE MAC
The Falcons lead the MAC in three team stats -- assist/turnover ratio, blocked shots, and assists. BGSU boasts a 1.04 assist/turnover ratio and is handing out 13.7 assists per game, numbers that show how consistently solid the ball-handling ability of Joe Jakubowski and Darryl Clements has been. The Falcons have also blocked 4.5 shots per game, getting intimidating defense inside from Otis Polk, Marc Larson, and Erik Marschall. Individually, Jakubowski's 2.36 assist/turnover ratio in conference games leads the MAC.
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 37 percent shooting in the first half of games this year but opponents are shooting 43 percent in the second half.
Half Scoring Margin FG% FGA%
1st +5.1 268/611 (.439) 211/570 (.370)
2nd -2.3 230/567 (.406) 243/571 (.426)
PLAYING FROM BEHIND
Bowling Green trailed Ohio 36-35 with 10 minutes to play in the contest. It marked the first time in head coach Louis Orr's two-year tenure that BG came back from a deficit with 10 minutes to play to win a game. The team had lost 32 consecutive games when it trailed with 10 minutes left since coming back to beat Buffalo 74-73 Jan. 7, 2007.
MAKING THINGS INTERESTING
Bowling Green is 6-5 in games decided by seven points or less this year with numerous games coming down to the final few possessions. Three of the most exciting of those were a 77-76 overtime win over Georgia State, a 52-51 win on road in front of 10,988 fans over Ohio, and a 62-58 home win over Ball State. Darryl Clements and Brian Moten made three-pointers in the final 15 seconds of regulation to force overtime against Georgia State and Joe Jakubowski knocked down a 25-foot three-pointer as the buzzer sounded in the extra session for the win. Against Ohio, the Bobcats had three possessions in the final 15 seconds but missed three shots, including a blocked shot from Chris Knight with less than four seconds remaining. Clements scored the Falcons' final five points of that game, helping the team overcome a late 47-44 deficit. Knight came up with a critical block for the second game in a row against Ball State, swatting away a fastbreak lay-up late in a 62-58 win.
GOOD KNIGHT
Chris Knight was named MAC East Player of the Week twice in a three-week stretch earlier this season. 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.
WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE (THAT ROARS)
Anderson Arena has always been a difficult place for opponents and the Falcons are 8-2 at home in 2008-09, beating teams by an average of 9.3 points per game. BG is off to its best start at home since the 2001-02 team went 13-1 in "The House That Roars". The Falcons are 445-178 (.714) all-time in Anderson Arena and 159-52 (.754) 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.
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 88-43. Minnesota is ranked No. 19 in both the AP Top 25 poll and Ohio State is receiving votes. Illinois State is also ranked ninth in the Mid-Major Top 25 poll.
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 940 points in his BG career.
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 two games can be heard on WFRO 99.1 FM and the others can be heard on WOHF 92.1 FM (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.
