Falcons to Tip-Off 2014-15 Season at Drake on Saturday

Saturday, November 15

Des Moines, Iowa

3:05 PM

Bowling Green State University

Drake

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Photo by: BGSU Marketing and Communications

November 14, 2014 | Men's Basketball

By: by Kevin Davis, Assistant Director for Athletic Communications

Bowling Green (0-0, 0-0 MAC) vs. Drake (0-0, 0-0 MVC)
Saturday, November 15, 2014; 3:05 p.m. ET
Knapp Center (7,152) / Des Moines, Iowa
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LIVE AUDIO
LIVE VIDEO
Radio: WFRO-FM 99.1
Twitter: @BGSUMHOOPS
COMPLETE GAME NOTES (PDF)

2014-15 MAC STANDINGS
EAST TEAMS	MAC	OVERALL
Akron	0-0	0-0
Bowling Green	0-0	0-0
Buffalo	0-0	0-0
Kent State	0-0	0-0
Miami	0-0	0-0
Ohio	0-0	0-0
WEST TEAMS	MAC	OVERALL
Ball State	0-0	0-0
Central Michigan	0-0	0-0
Eastern Michigan	0-0	0-0
Northern Illinois	0-0	0-0
Toledo	0-0	0-0
Western Michigan	0-0	0-0

LAY-UPS
* BGSU enters the season with 1,300 wins overall as a program (1300-1108).
* Head Coach Chris Jans will be making his coaching debut at BGSU on Saturday.
* The Falcons return its top four scorers from last year who all averaged over 10 points per game.
* Richaun Holmes was named to the 2014-15 MAC East Division All-MAC Preseason Team.
* BGSU has won three straight season openers (2013-14, 2012-13, 2011-12).
* The Falcons have never beaten the Drake Bulldogs in men's basketball action.
* Bowling Green is in its 100th season of basketball this year.

SCOUTING DRAKE
Drake posted a 78-53 win over Coe College in an exhibition contest on Nov. 8 at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa. The Bulldogs, who trailed 33-32 at the half, outscored Coe 46-20 in the second half to pull away for the win. Redshirt-senior guard Gary Ricks, Jr., who missed most of last season with a foot injury, led the Bulldogs with a game-high 24 points on 7-of-9 shooting, which included going 5-of-7 from behind the three-point line. DU was picked to finish ninth overall in the 2014-15 MVC Preseason Poll, receiving 92 points overall. The Bulldogs posted four more wins in 2013-14 then they did the season before and return eight players from last year's squad.

THE SERIES WITH THE BULLDOGS : DRAKE LEADS 1-0
The Falcons and the Bulldogs have met only once before on the hardwood in men's basketball action with the lone meeting coming back in the 1974-75 season. BGSU fell to Drake 78-65 in the semifinals of the 1975 National Commissioners Invitational Tournament (NCIT) in Louisville, Ky. The NCIT was a single-elimination tournament of eight NCAA Division I teams that did not participate in the 1975 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament or the 1975 National Invitation Tournament. Drake went on to defeat Arizona in the championship game.

BACK TO THE VALLEY FOR JANS AND RAGLAND
BGSU head coach Chris Jans and assistant coach David Ragland both return to the Missouri Valley Conference where each came from in Wichita State and Indiana State, respectively. During his seven years on the bench at Wichita State, Jans helped the Shockers go 9-5 versus Drake overall, including having won each of the last four meetings. Prior to that, Jans helped guide Illinois State to a 4-2 record versus Drake as an assistant coach from 2004-07, giving him a record of 13-7 as an assistant versus the Bulldogs in MVC play. Ragland, who spent the last four years as an assistant at Indiana State, helped guide the Sycamores to a 5-3 record over Drake during his time in The Valley.

JANS ERA BEGINS AT BOWLING GREEN
The Chris Jans era at Bowling Green State University begins with Saturday's contest at Drake on Nov. 15. Jans was hired at BGSU as the 16th head coach in March 2014. He came to BGSU after seven seasons on the staff at Wichita State. He has over 20 years of coaching experience and has posted an overall record of 159-45 as a head coach at the junior college level.

HOMECOMING FOR CHRIS JANS
Iowa native Chris Jans returns to his home state for his head coaching debut with the Falcons versus Drake on Saturday, Nov. 15. Jans hails from Fairbank, Iowa and played college basketball at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, from 1987-1991, where he was a three-year starter and captained the team his senior year. Jans was an assistant coach at Grand View College in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1994 before receiving his first head coaching job at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he won the NJCAA National Championship in 1997.

FALCONS IN SEASON OPENERS
The Falcons have fared well in season openers since starting basketball in 1915-16, as BGSU has posted a record of 72-27 in their 99 season openers. BGSU has won each of its last three season openers and five of their last six opening contests.

EXAMINING THE EXHIBITION WIN
The Falcons had 14 different players score, which included four different players posting double digit points, in an 88-64 win over Notre Dame College in exhibition play on Nov. 7. After a over zealous start that saw NDC take an early lead, BGSU used a 19-3 run in the first half to take a lead that they would hold for over 35 minutes of the game. The Falcons' bench outscored Notre Dame's bench 54-14 and held a 20-2 advantage in second chance points on a 47-27 rebounding edge.

PRESEASON LOVE FOR MR. HOLMES
Senior Richaun Holmes received a lot of preseason attention this fall, as the forward was named to a number of preseason teams.
   * 2014-15 MAC East Division All-MAC Preseason Team selection
   * Named to the 2014-15 Preseason All-MAC Team by Athlon Sports
   * Named to the 2014-15 Preseason All-MAC Team by Sporting News
   * Named to the 2014-15 Preseason All-MAC Second-Team by Lindy's Sports
   * Named to the 2014-15 Preseason Mid-American All-Conference Second-Team by College Sports Madness (www.collegesportsmadness.com)

FAMILIAR FACES FOR THE FALCONS
This season, BGSU returns 11 players from last year's roster including four starters in Richaun Holmes, Jehvon Clarke, Spencer Parker and Anthony Henderson. In fact, those four players all averaged over 32.0 minutes per game last season for the Falcons.

HE'S BACK - BACK AGAIN
Chauncey Orr returns this season after missing all but one half of play last year due to an injury. Orr, who received a medical redshirt last season, had 14 points in the first half of the 2013-14 season opener before suffering the injury. The redshirt-junior played in all 32 games as a sophomore in 2012-13 where he averaged 7.5 points per game on 45 percent shooting from the field overall.

RETURN TO SENDER
Falcons' senior Richaun Holmes totaled a new BGSU school record for the most blocks in a single season last year with 88. In only two seasons at BGSU, Holmes has already become the Falcons' all-time career blocks leader with 161 career swats.

HOME SWEET STROH
BGSU has called the Stroh Center home since the 2011-12 season and has posted an overall record of 30-17 at the venue. In fact, BGSU is a perfect 16-0 at the Stroh when scoring 70 points or more in a contest.

EXPERIENCED GROUP
The 2014-15 Falcons' roster is an experienced group, as the roster has 10 upperclassmen, including seven players that have played at least two years of NCAA Division I basketball. BGSU returned one redshirt senior in Anthony Henderson, three seniors in Richaun Holmes, Jehvon Clarke and Damarkeo Lyshe, as well as redshirt-juniors Chauncey Orr and Josh Gomez. On top of that, junior forward Spencer Parker returns along with three junior college transfers in Delvin Dickerson (Paris JC), Jovan Austin (Paris JC) and David Joseph (Howard College), who all were key parts in winning programs at the JUCO level prior to coming to BGSU.

A HANDFUL OF NEWCOMERS
Coach Chris Jans and his staff brought in a handful of newcomers in 2014-15 - five to be exact. Junior college transfers Delvin Dickerson (Houston, Texas/Paris JC), Jovan Austin (Grand Prairie, Texas/Paris JC) and David Joseph (Queens, N.Y./Howard College (Texas)) all joined the BGSU program over the summer and will have two years of eligibility for the Falcons. Freshmen Rasheed Worrell (Coker, Ala./Sipsey Valley H.S.) and Matt Fox (Maumee, Ohio/Anthony Wayne H.S.) will both have four years of eligibility at BGSU heading into the 2014-15 season.

FALCONS ON ESPN NETWORKS
The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team is slated to play four games on ESPN3 – Dec. 28 at South Florida at 3 p.m., Feb. 4 at Central Michigan at 7 p.m., Feb. 7 at Northern Illinois at 8 p.m., and March 6 at Buffalo at 7 p.m. In addition to the four aforementioned contests, three more games could be televised as part of 21-day Wildcard contests that will air on ESPNU. Those possible games are slated for Friday, Jan. 30 (vs. Akron); Friday, Feb. 13 (at Ball State); and on Friday, Feb. 27 (at Miami).

FALCONS SIGN THREE EARLY
On Nov. 12, Bowling Green State University head men's basketball coach Chris Jans announced the signing of Jalone Friday (Oklahoma City Storm HomeSchool/Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), Jamir Andrews (Sheridan College/Dublin H.S./Dublin, California) and Malik Hluchoweckyj (Bellevue West H.S./Bellevue, Nebraska) to National Letters of Intent to continue both their athletic and academic careers at Bowling Green beginning in the Fall of 2015.

ON TAP FOR THE FALCONS
Up next for BGSU will be the 2014-15 home opener versus Wright State on Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 4 p.m. ET. The Falcons will then remain at home to welcome Alabama A&M to town on Tuesday, Nov. 25, at 7 p.m. for a non-conference showdown.

EXTRA HITS
* Get your season tickets now - Click Here!
* Want to win a $1,000 Gift Card? Find out how by clicking here!
* BGSU Athletics Announces Fan Buses for Nov. 19 Football Game - Click Here!

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