Bowling Green Heads To Bowling Green To Face WKU Sunday

Bowling Green Falcons (4-2) at Western Kentucky (2-6)
Dec. 4, 2011 • 3:00 p.m. • Bowling Green, Ky. • EA Diddle Arena (7,326)
Radio: Falcon Radio Network • Todd Walker (Play-by-Play)
Television: Fox College Sports
Live Stats: http://www.wkusports.com
Online: Stretch Internet (audio) / http://www.wkusports.com (video)
Complete Game Notes (.pdf)
PURCHASE TICKETS

QUICK HITS
* BGSU is 0-1 on the road this year and Western Kentucky is 2-3 at home.
* Bowling Green is 9-21 all-time against Western Kentucky, including a 59-52 loss a year ago.
* This is the first of two meetings against Sun Belt schools this year for BGSU (both being on the road). The Falcons will play Florida International on Dec. 22.
* Bowling Green is 10-4 all-time against all other Sun Belt schools for an overall mark of 19-25 against the conference.
* Scott Thomas posted his 50th career double-figure scoring game against Temple. He has scored 10+ points in every game this year.
* Thomas made his 100th career three-pointer against Temple. He needs 59 points and 10 steals to become the first player in program history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 100 three-pointers and 150 steals in a career.
* Bowling Green is 4-2 for the first time since the 2007-08 season and is going for a 5-2 record for the first time since 2004-05.
* BGSU won a game when an opponent shot at least 50 percent from the floor for the first time under Louis Orr when Austin Peay shot 51 percent.
* The Falcons have had more turnovers than their opponents only one time this season.
* Scott Thomas and Dee Brown will play in their 100th career games against Western Kentucky.

FALCONS HIT THE ROAD TO FACE WESTERN KENTUCKY
Bowling Green will play just its second road game of the year Sunday when the Falcons play in Bowling Green, Ky. for a 3 p.m. contest with Western Kentucky. Off to a 4-2 start for the first time since the 2007-08 season, the Falcons are coming off of an upset over Temple a week ago. Bowling Green ranks second in the MAC in turnover margin at +3.7 per game. By contrast, Western Kentucky has struggled to take care of the ball and is averaging 2.6 more turnovers per game than its opponents.

THE SERIES
Western Kentucky improved to 21-9 all-time against the Falcons with a 59-52 victory a year ago in Anderson Arena. Prior to that match-up, the two programs had not played since an 81-74 BGSU win on Dec. 11, 1991. The series began with a 39-37 Bowling Green victory on Dec. 14, 1946. The two programs met once in the postseason with Western Kentucky pulling out a 95-81 victory at Madison Square Garden for the 1954 NIT.

SCOUTING WESTERN KENTUCKY
Western Kentucky was picked to finish third in the Sun Belt Conference East Division in the preseason poll, but the Hilltoppers are just 2-6 to start the season. The team's two wins have come by a combined eight points at home over Tennessee State and Southeastern Louisiana. Western Kentucky has struggled shooting the ball (36.4 percent) and have turned it over at a high rate (18.5 per game). Those struggles have added up to just 57.4 points per game for the Hilltoppers. Derrick Gordon is the only Western Kentucky player to start all eight games this year but he is shooting just 33 percent from the field and has made 5-of-25 three-point attempts.

FALCONS STUN TEMPLE WITH 67-64 WIN IN STROH CENTER
Jordon Crawford's three-pointer with 30 seconds left gave Bowling Green a lead it would not relinquish as the Falcons upset Temple Sunday. The Owls entered the game receiving votes in both major NCAA Division I polls but Bowling Green shot 56 percent from the field to overcome a three-point halftime deficit. A'uston Calhoun led with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Scott Thomas and Dee Brown had 11 each. Crawford came off the bench for the first time this year and scored nine points, including the clutch three-pointer in the final minute.

STAT STUFFER
Senior forward Scott Thomas has proven to be one of the most versatile players in Bowling Green history over the course of his career. A two-time All-MAC honorable mention performer, Thomas was the only player in the conference to rank in the top 10 in both rebounding and assists a year ago. He needs just 59 more points and 10 more steals to become the first player in BGSU history to have 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 150 steals, and 100 three-pointers. On top of that, he need 19 assists for 250 in his career.

THOMAS IMPROVING HIS EFFICIENCY
While Scott Thomas does just about everything on the floor for the Falcons, the area in which he most needed to improve coming into the 2011-12 season was shooting from three-point range and the free-throw line. A year ago, Thomas shot 29 percent on three-pointers and 59 percent from the charity line. This year, he has made 8-of-19 three-pointers (42.1 percent) and 17-of-22 free-throws (77.3 percent).

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?
Senior Dee Brown has always been an integral scorer for the Falcons, but this year he has taken on a new role, serving as the point guard when regular starter Jordon Crawford is getting a breather. In the team's past two wins (over Detroit and Temple), Brown has 14 assists without a turnover. He posted a career high eight against Detroit and then followed that up with six when he started at point guard for the first time in his career against Temple.

CRAIG'S LIST
Craig Sealey is beginning to fulfill the potential he flashed a year ago as a freshman. In the first two games of the season, he posted consecutive double-digit scoring efforts for the first time in his career. Sealey played a career-high 30 minutes against George Washington and is averaging 8.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game a year after averaging 2.4 points and 1.1 rebounds. In fact, he has already scored more points and grabbed more rebounds than he did in 2010-11.

SAY WHAT?
Bowling Green shot 66.7 percent from the field in the first half against Central Michigan a year ago but still lost the game. In fact, the Falcons have lost the last five games when they have shot at least 61.5 percent from the floor in a half.

A NEW HOLIDAY TRADITION
BGSU men's basketball will play on New Year's Day for the second consecutive year as the Falcons play at Texas San Antonio on Jan. 1. The Falcons are 4-1 all-time when breaking in the new year, including last year's 67-61 win at St. Louis. Bowling Green is just one of eight NCAA Division I programs playing on New Year's Day in both 2011 and 2012 (joining Syracuse, DePaul, Marquette, Southern Illinois, Illinois State, Northern Iowa, and Evansville).

THE BIG APOSTROPHE
A'uston Calhoun's junior season began much like his sophomore campaign did, but he began to find his form much quicker than a year ago. Calhoun averaged just 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds over the first 10 games in 2010-11, shooting 31 percent from the field. But in the last 23 games, he averaged 15.0 points and 6.3 rebounds, while shooting 47 percent from the floor. Through the first two games this year, Calhoun averaged just 2.5 points per game. In the last four games, he has averaged 12.8 points while shooting 46 percent from the field.

1,000 POINT SCORERS
In BGSU basketball history, 37 different players have scored 1,000 points in their careers. This year both Scott Thomas and Dee Brown could reach that plateau. Only six times in BGSU history have two players reached 1,000 career points in the same year. Thomas currently has 941 points and Brown has 783.

THE STROH CENTER
BGSU played its first regular season game ever in the Stroh Center against Howard. After 51 years in venerable Anderson Arena, the Falcons opened one of the newest facilities in the country. Here are the NCAA Division I institutions opening new facilities this year.

BALANCED PRODUCTION
Bowling Green is getting offensive production from its entire lineup as eight players or more have scored in each of the Falcons' last four games. Against both Austin Peay and Detroit, 10 different Falcons scored. Against George Washington, nine different players got into the scoring column and eight players scored against Temple.

DOWN LOW
Head coach Louis Orr's philosophy is always to play inside-out and the Falcons have done that well during his tenure. This year, the Falcons have scored at least 20 points in the paint in 5-of-6 games with a season-high 40 against Austin Peay. In 2009-10 and 2010-11, the Falcons scored 20 or more points in the paint in 57-of-63 games.

PARKER/HOLMES SIGN WITH THE FALCONS
Louis Orr announced the signing of Spencer Parker and Richaun Holmes during this year's early signing period. Parker is from West Bloomfield, Mich. and is playing for Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Va. this year. He will have four years of eligibility remaining. Holmes is from Lockport, Ill. and is playing this year at Moraine Community College. As a full qualifier out of high school, he will transfer to Bowling Green and be able to play immediately with three years of eligibility remaining.

FOREIGN TOUR
The BGSU men's basketball team got the opportunity to travel to Toronto for a summer foreign tour and play three games. The Falcons went 2-1 on the trip, gaining experience and the opportunity for extra practices.

50 PERCENT PROVIDES BETTER THAN A 50/50 CHANCE
When Bowling Green shoots at least 50 percent from the floor, the Falcons have an excellent chance of winning the game. The Falcons went 8-1 a year ago in such instances and are 30-5 in head coach Louis Orr's four years when make at least half of their shots. This year, Bowling Green shot 56 percent in a win over Temple.

THE NEW HOUSE
Anderson Arena provided BGSU with an excellent home court advantage as the Falcons went 466-190 (.710) all-time in The House That Roars. Bowling Green will attempt to build a new home court advantage after going 10-5 in Anderson Arena a year ago. This year, the Falcons are 4-1 (.800) in the Stroh Center.

FALCONS TO PLAY ON REGIONAL/NATIONAL TELEVISION
BGSU will play a minimum of four games on ESPNU or SportsTime Ohio this year. The Falcons played on ESPNU at Georgia on Nov. 13 and will play three games on STO (Jan.7 vs. Ohio, Jan. 28 at Eastern Michigan, Feb. 4 vs. Northern Illinois). On top of those contests, there are approximately a dozen other opportunities for STO or ESPN to choose the Falcons for television games.

DEFENSE WINS
Over the course of the past three years, Bowling Green has held its opponent to 45 percent shooting or worse in 27 of the Falcons' 32 wins. A year ago, Bowling Green went just 2-12 when an opponent shot at least 45 percent, posting victories against only Manhattan (48.9 percent shooting) and Ohio (45.8 percent). This year, the Falcons have already equaled that win total and are 2-2 when an opponent shoots over 45 percent. Bowling Green actually won for the first time in Louis Orr's tenure when a team shot 50 percent as Austin Peay scored at a 51 percent clip, but the Falcons won 82-72.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON?
Head coach Louis Orr was an All-American at Syracuse and he will have the opportunity to help his son, freshman Chauncey Orr, grow into a strong collegiate player. Chauncey was a first team all-state player at Bowling Green High School.

FIRST TEAM ALL-STATE
Bowling Green has brought in an Associated Press Division I First Team All-State player Ohio first team all-state player for three consecutive years. Junior Luke Kraus was named first team all-state at Findlay High School in 2008-09. Redshirt freshman Anthony Henderson earned the honor at Toledo Start High School in 2009-10 and Chauncey Orr was named to the team from Bowling Green High School in 2010-11. BGSU is the only school in the country with three players from the AP Division I First Team All-State teams from the past three years on the roster. Miami (Ohio) and Ohio State each has two.

SHOTS FROM THE HEART
Assistant coach Dennis Hopson is competing in the second annual Shots From the Heart Tournament, benefitting the Skip Prosser Foundation. Hopson is competing in a 64-person, bracket-style single elimination free-throw shooting tournament with 63 other NCAA Division I assistant coaches. His first round opponent is Michigan's LaVall Jordan. Each coach will shoot 25 free-throws at their convenience and report the results. First round competition will be complete at the end of November.

FALCONS PICKED SIXTH
Bowling Green was picked to finish sixth in the Mid-American Conference East Division in the preseason media poll. Defending MAC champion Kent State was selected to win the East while Western Michigan was selected to win the West.

MAC Preseason Media Poll
East Division - 1. Kent State (132 points/16 first-place votes), 2. Akron (104 points/8 first-place votes), 3. Ohio (94 points), 4. Miami (80 points), 5. Buffalo (62 points), 6. Bowling Green (32 points)
West Division - 1. Western Michigan (128 points/14 first-place votes), 2. Ball State (111 points/9 first-place votes), 3. Central Michigan (92 points/1 first-place vote), 4. Toledo (76 points), 5. Northern Illinois (59 points), 6. Eastern Michigan (38 points)
Tournament Champion - Kent State 12, Akron 6, Ball State 3, Western Michigan 2, Central Michigan 1

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