Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
OHIO
Falcons Win MAC Championship And Earn No. 1 Seed
March 08, 2009 | Men's Basketball
March 8, 2009
Box Score
Seniors Postgame Press Conference Audio
Orr Postgame Press Conference Audio
Bowling Green, Ohio - The Bowling Green men's basketball team quickly made Sunday's senior day game against Ohio a no-doubter. The Falcons jumped out to a 27-7 lead and blew out the Bobcats 75-41 to clinch a share of the Mid-American Conference Eastern Division championship. Bowling Green then had to wait for Buffalo to pull out an overtime victory over Miami that gave the Falcons the No. 1 seed for the MAC Tournament, which starts Tuesday in Cleveland.
Bowling Green has played 17 games decided by seven points or less this year but the Falcons played their most complete game to date, rolling to an early lead and never letting off the throttle. BGSU took a 40-18 lead into the break, pushed the lead to 30 at 51-21 with 13:52 to go and led by as many as 37 late in the game.
The victory pushed the Falcons record to 18-12 overall and the team's 11-5 mark in the East was good enough to get the No. 1 seed for the MAC Tournament. Buffalo ended tied with BGSU but the Falcons swept the season series with Bulls to earn the top seed. Akron, Miami and Kent State all finished one game back at 10-6.
Ironically, the coaching staff and players point to the Falcons' first game with Ohio as the turning point in the season. At that point, Bowling Green was 1-3 in conference play and had yet to win a road game all season long. The Falcons edged out a 52-51 victory in Athens, a victory that sparked the team. Bowling Green went on to win six consecutive road games, tying the program record, and went 10-2 in its final 12 conference games to overtake the conference leaders.
Along with the No. 1 seed for the MAC Tournament comes another big prize. The Falcons earned an automatic bid to the NIT Tournament should they be unable to win three consecutive games in the conference tournament to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Bowling Green has not been to the NIT since 2002 and has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 1968. Just three years ago, the Falcons were only 9-21 and finished last in the division. But Bowling Green seniors Nate Miller, Darryl Clements and Brian Moten put their stamp on the program with Sunday's win.
Miller finished with his fifth double-double in the last 10 games, posting 14 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and four steals. Clements had a game-high 15 points, making 3-of-6 three-pointes, and added six assists. Moten finished with just three points but played 30 minutes of smart basketball, posting four rebounds and a steal.
The biggest key to the game was the Falcons' play inside. BGSU held a 32-10 advantage in points in the paint and Otis Polk had 14 points and six rebounds. Polk, Miller and Erik Marschall combined to go 12-for-16 from the field and the Falcons outrebounded Ohio 35-29.
Joe Jakubowski also had a strong game at the point guard position, finishing with 10 points and four steals. He directed an offense that shot a season-best 60 percent from the field and made 8-of-16 three-pointers.
All year the Falcons have relied on their defense and BG was up to the task again Sunday. The team had a season-high 14 steals and held Ohio to only 27.5 percent shooting as the Bobcats made 7-of-26 (27 percent) three-pointers. Bowling Green never trailed in the contest as the Falcons held Ohio to only seven points in the game's first 10 minutes and just 18 for the entire first half.
Ohio fell to 14-16 with the loss and 7-9 in conference play. The Bobcats' leading scorer and MAC Player of the Year candidate Jerome Tillman was held to just one point and attempted just one shot.
Bowling Green will have a bye through the opening round of the MAC Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland Tuesday and will meet the winner of No. 8 seed Western Michigan and No. 9 seed Ohio Thursday at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Ohio.
2009 FIRSTENERGY MAC MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
Tuesday, March 10
No. 7 Central Michigan vs. No. 10 Eastern Michigan, 12 pm
No. 6 Kent State vs. No. 11 Northern Illinois, 2 pm
No. 8 Western Michigan vs. No. 9 Ohio, 4 pm
No. 5 Akron vs. No. 12 Toledo, 6 pm
Thursday, March 12
No. 2 Ball State vs. No. 7/No. 10 winner, 12 pm (FS Ohio)
No. 3 Buffalo vs. No. 6/No. 11 winner, 2:30 pm (FS Ohio)
No. 1 Bowling Green vs. No. 8/No. 9 winner, 7 pm (FS Ohio)
No. 4 Miami vs. No. 5/No. 12 winner, 9:30 pm (FS Ohio)
Friday, March 13
No. 2/7/10 winner vs. No. 3/6/11 winner, 7:30 pm (FS Ohio)
No. 1/8/9 winner vs. No. 4/5/12 winner, 9:30 pm (FS Ohio)
Saturday, March 14
Championship game, 8:00 pm (ESPN2)
