Falcons Return Home To Host Malone

Wednesday, December 7

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:00 pm

Bowling Green State University

Malone

Photo by: Doug Sampson

December 05, 2011 | Men's Basketball

By: by Jason Knavel, Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications

Bowling Green Falcons (4-3) vs. Malone (5-3)
Dec. 7, 2011 • 7:00 p.m. • Bowling Green, Ohio • Stroh Center (4,347)
Radio: Falcon Radio Network • Todd Walker (Play-by-Play)/Kirk Cowan (Color)
Television: None
Live Stats: http://www.bgsufalcons.com
Online: Stretch Internet (audio) / America One Network (video)
Complete Game Notes (.pdf)
PURCHASE TICKETS

QUICK HITS
* BGSU is 4-1 at home in the brand new Stroh Center and Malone is 2-2 on the road.
* Bowling Green and Malone have never faced each other.
* Malone is an NCAA Division II transitioning program, moving from NAIA, and has been accepted into the GLIAC.
* Under head coach Louis Orr, Bowling Green is 4-0 against non-Division I programs, with three of those wins coming over GLIAC schools. Those three wins have come by an average of 26.7 points.
* This will be Bowling Green's only home game in December and the Falcons will be away from the Stroh Center for exactly a month before hosting Ohio on Jan. 7 to open MAC play.
* Scott Thomas was named MAC Player of the Week a week ago and has scored in double-figures in every game this year.
* Thomas made his 100th career three-pointer against Temple. He needs 43 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.
* BGSU is 4-0 when shooting at least 38 percent from the floor and 0-3 when not reaching that threshold.
* 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 played in their 100th career games at Western Kentucky Sunday.

FALCONS RETURN HOME TO HOST PIONEERS
Following a late loss on the road to Western Kentucky Sunday, the Bowling Green men's basketball team returns home to host Malone Wednesday night at 7 p.m. BGSU is 4-1 in the brand new Stroh Center, including a recent win over Temple, one of the great programs in college basketball. Malone is in a transitional stage, moving from the NAIA to NCAA Division II, and the Pioneers have been accepted into the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference, a league with a history of knocking off NCAA Division I programs.

THE SERIES
Bowling Green and Malone have never faced each other, but the Falcons are 4-0 in Louis Orr's tenure against non-NCAA Division I programs. Three of those wins came against schools in the GLIAC, the league in which Malone is headed. The Falcons have won those three games (two vs. Wayne State and a game against Ohio Dominican) by an average of 26.7 points. Overall, Bowling Green has won nine straight meetings with GLIAC schools since a loss to Findlay on Nov. 22, 1991.

SCOUTING MALONE
While Malone does not play at the NCAA Division I level, the Pioneers do have a huge win under their belts this year. Malone went on the road to snap Findlay's 105-game regular season home win streak with a 74-71 victory earlier this year. That win has catapulted the Pioneers to a 5-3 start with three players scoring in double figures. Eric Coblentz, a 6-feet-2 senior guard, leads the way with 15.0 points per game and 6-4 sophomore forward Cory Veldhuizen is second at 14.3 points. Malone also shoots free-throws very well, connecting on 74 percent of its attempts. Head coach Tim Walker is 36-32 in his third season at Malone following a seven-year head coaching career at Trinity Christian in Palos Heights, Ill.

LAST GAME: WESTERN KENTUCKY PUTS FALCONS AWAY LATE
Bowling Green battled back from an 18-point second half deficit to tie Western Kentucky on a Scott Thomas three-pointer with 2:18 to play, but the Hilltoppers scored the final seven points for a 60-53 win Sunday. Thomas scored 12 of the Falcons' final 14 points to help the team claw back but Bowling Green shot just 33 percent as a team and was outrebounded 43-33. A'uston Calhoun added 11 points and Jordon Crawford came off the bench to have seven points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocked shots.

GREAT SCOTT
Senior forward Scott Thomas has scored in double-figures in each of the first seven games this year. That is the longest double-digit scoring streak to open a season since Martin Samarco did it in 16 consecutive games to start the 2006-07 season.

STAT STUFFER
While Scott Thomas has proven to be the team's most consistent scoring threat this year, he will also go down as one of the most versatile players in program history. 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 43 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 17 assists for 250 in his career.

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. Brown ranks third in the MAC with a 2.4 assist/turnover ratio.

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 7.3 points and 5.3 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.

IMPROVING 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 9-of-21 three-pointers (42.9 percent) and 20-of-25 free-throws (80.0 percent). He ranks sixth in the MAC in three-point percentage.

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 five games, he has averaged 12.4 points.

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 957 points and Brown has 785.

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.

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 6-of-7 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.

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.

BALANCED PRODUCTION
Bowling Green is getting offensive production from its entire lineup as seven players or more have scored in every game this year. Against both Austin Peay and Detroit, 10 different Falcons scored. Against George Washington and Western Kentucky, nine different players got into the scoring column.

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.

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