Falcons Fly South to Face Off with South Florida This Sunday on ESPN3

Bowling Green (6-3, 0-0 MAC) vs. South Florida (6-6, 0-0 AAC)
Sunday, December 28, 2014; 3:00 p.m. ET
Sun Dome (10,411) / Tampa, Fla.
LIVE STATS
LIVE AUDIO
ESPN3
Radio: WFRO-FM 99.1
Twitter: @BGSUMHOOPS
COMPLETE GAME NOTES (PDF)

2014-15 MAC STANDINGS
EAST TEAMS	MAC	OVERALL
Kent State	0-0	8-3
Buffalo	0-0	7-2
Akron	0-0	7-4
Bowling Green	0-0	6-3
Ohio	0-0	4-6
Miami	0-0	3-8
WEST TEAMS	MAC	OVERALL
Eastern Michigan	0-0	10-2
Central Michigan	0-0	9-1
Western Michigan	0-0	7-4
Toledo	0-0	7-4
Northern Illinois	0-0	4-5
Ball State	0-0	3-6

LAY-UPS
* The Falcons are 0-3 all-time versus the Bulls of South Florida.
* BGSU is 2-2 on the road this season, yet have dropped each of its last two road contests (at WKU - Dec. 3 & at Dayton - Dec. 9).
* The Falcons are coming off an 82-68 home loss to Ferris State on Dec. 21, its worst loss of the season in terms of points differential.
* BGSU is 2-0 this season in games following a loss.
* The Falcons are 2-3 in the month of December after going 4-0 in November.
* Bowling Green is 5-0 when making more free throws than their opponents.
* Bowling Green is in its 100th season of basketball this year.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
You can follow the Falcons in many different ways this 2014-15 season. You can follow BGSU via twitter by following @BGSUMHoops and at @BGAthletics. You can also follow BGSU on instagram @bgfalcons and on facebook at BGSU Athletics. As always you can get all your BGSU Athletics information at www.BGSUFalcons.com.

SCOUTING SOUTH FLORIDA
The Bulls, who are under first year head coach Orlando Antigua, are 6-6 overall this season and 5-2 at home in the Sun Dome. After starting the season off at 5-1, USF lost five straight contests before ending the losing skid with a win at home over SE Louisiana last time out on Dec. 23. The Bulls have scored over 62 points in all but one game this season and are averaging 69.7 points per game. Yet the Bulls are allowing 70.2 points per game thus far this season. USF has a trio of players in Corey Allen, Jr., Chris Perry and Nehemias Morillo who are all averaging over 10 points per game, while guard Anthony Collins is posting 6.0 assists per contest thus far this season. The Bulls have eight players logging an average of over 15 minutes per game on the year.

THE SERIES WITH THE BULLS OF USF
BGSU is 0-3 all-time versus the Bulls of South Florida with this year's meeting being the third meeting in each of the last three years. The Falcons, who lost at home to the Bulls, 75-61, last season, are 0-2 versus USF in the Sunshine State with losses in 1978 and 2012. The road loss in 2012 in the Sun Dome was a triple-overtime thriller in which the Bulls escaped with an 87-84 home win over the Falcons.

CURRENT FALCONS VERSUS SOUTH FLORIDA
Three players in Anthony Henderson, Richaun Holmes and Jehvon Clarke have twice played against South Florida, while four other players in BGSU returners Spencer Parker, Josh Gomez, JD Tisdale and Damarkeo Lyshe all played in the contest last year at the Stroh Center. In the two games against the Bulls, Henderson has averaged 8.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game, while Holmes has posted 6.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game, which included five blocks in the meeting back in 2012. Clarke, who had a team-high 17 points versus the Bulls last year, is averaging 10.0 points, 3.0 assists and 2.0 rebounds against USF in his career at BGSU. Last year, Gomez came off the bench to score a career-high seven points on 3-of-4 shooting and haul in four rebounds, while Parker poured in 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting and also pulled down four boards in the loss to the Bulls.

ROUGH DECEMBER
Both the Falcons and the Bulls have had very rough Decembers since posting strong starts to the year over the month of November. After going 4-0 in November, the Falcons have gone just 2-3 overall in the 12th month. South Florida, who went 5-1 in November, has gone just 1-5 since the calendar turned to the month of December.

COACH'S COMMENTS
"Coach Antigua and his staff are in a similar position as us. We both are aiming to build a culture of winning. There are continued challenges you face along the way while trying to prepare for each and every game. We will be facing a team who has played a tough schedule. They have played four games versus power conference teams, so they have seen it all in their non-conference slate already this season. They have competed versus some very good programs. South Florida possesses two guards out front who are awfully talented in Collins and Allen that will be a handful for us. Along with the guards they have great size and length across the board. They are bigger than most teams we have and will face. We must figure out a way to handle their size and length."

A WIN WOULD ...
* Put the Falcons at 3-0 in games following a loss so far this season.
* Push BGSU to 3-2 in true road games on the year.
* Hand the Falcons its first-ever win over South Florida (0-3 all-time).
* Give the Falcons an overall record of 3-3 over the month of December.
* Place BGSU at 7-3 on the year heading into the 2015 calendar year.

SUB!!!!!!!!!!!
Coach Jans has proven early that he is not afraid to go to his bench, as 15 different players have already seen time on the floor for the Falcons this season, while eight different players are averaging 17 minutes or more of playing time per game this season. In fact, the Falcons have outscored their opponents by 120 points (238-118) in bench points this year, an average of 26.4 points per game off the bench compared to their opponents 13.1 bench points per outing.

DEFENSE! DEFENSE! DEFENSE!
The Falcons have been solid on the defensive end this season, as BGSU ranks second in the MAC in field goal defense by holding its opponents to 39.3 percent shooting overall. BGSU is also third in the MAC in points allowed per game at 59.3 points per outing and fourth in three-point field goal percentage defense by limiting its foes to only 31.2 percent shooting from long distance.

RETURN TO SENDER
Falcon senior Richaun Holmes has posted a block in all but two games thus far this season and has totaled a season-high five blocks in three different games this year on his way to a team leading 21 blocks on the season. Holmes totaled a new BGSU school record for the most blocks in a single season last year with 88. In only his first two seasons at BGSU, Holmes became the Falcons' all-time career blocks leader and now has 182 career swats.

HOME SWEET STROH
BGSU has called the Stroh Center home since the 2011-12 season and has posted an overall record of 34-18 at the venue. The Falcons have won seven or more games at home every season since the Stroh's opening for the 2011-12 season and are 4-1 at home thus far this year.

THAT 70'S STROH
BGSU is a perfect 17-0 at the Stroh when scoring 70 points or more in a contest. That means the Falcons have scored 70 or more points in half of their wins in front of the home fans in the Stroh.

MAGIC NUMBER FOR HOLMES IS 26
The magic number for forward Richaun Holmes has proven to be 26 - in that he has posted a career-high 26 points twice this season. Holmes had 26 points versus Ferris State on Dec. 21, but not before he matched his career-high of 26 points on Nov. 30 in a last second win at Detroit. The 6-8 forward first scored his career-high 26 points last season at Xavier.

DENNY EARNS MAC EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS ON DEC. 15
Denny, who logged a team-high 37.0 minutes per game last week for BGSU, averaged a team-high 15.0 points per game on 61.1 percent shooting from the floor (11-of-18), including hitting down 4-of-7 (57.1 percent) from behind the three-point line. The sophomore guard also averaged 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game against Dayton and Cleveland State. At Dayton, Denny scored a game-high 16 points on 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) shooting and added six rebounds and three steals in 38 minutes of play. On Saturday in the home win over CSU, Denny poured in 14 points and hauled in a career-high nine rebounds in 36 minutes. He was 4-of-6 (66.7 percent) from the field overall, a perfect 2-of-2 from behind the 3-point line and 4-of-4 from the free throw line.

FALCONS FALL TO FERRIS STATE FOR ITS FIRST HOME LOSS OF 2014-15
Despite outscoring Ferris State 42-24 in points in the paint and 21-10 in bench points, the Falcons could not slow down the hot shooting Bulldogs who shot 58.3 percent in the second half, including going 6-of-9 from behind the three-point line and 11-of-13 from the free throw line to hand BGSU its first home loss of the year.

SECOND HALF COMEBACK VERSUS CSU
The Falcons used a 14-0 run and held the Vikings without a made field goal for nearly 10 minutes to erase a 12-point first half deficit and defeat Cleveland State 67-57 on Dec. 13 in the inaugural Bill Frack Challenge. BGSU shot 52 percent (11-of-21) in the second half and held CSU to 7-of-32 shooting (22 percent) en route to the come from behind win. The Orange and Brown outscored the Vikings by 17 points, 43-26, over the final 20 minutes of play.

CHARITY AT DAYTON
The Falcons aided the Flyers on Dec. 9, particularly in the second half, by sending Dayton to the free throw line a total of 29 times for the game. Dayton, who went 21-of-29 (72.4 percent) from the charity stripe in the contest, got to the foul line a total of 19 times in the second half. UD connected on 15 of those 19 free throw attempts in the second half, which was nine more makes than free throw attempts for BGSU who only shot six free throws for the game. Dayton held a 19-point advantage (21-2) over BGSU at the charity stripe in the four point win at 56-52.

#10 DROPPIN DIMES
BGSU's #10 David Joseph dished out a career-high eight assists in the Falcons 17-point win over Alabama A&M on Dec. 6. Perhaps most impressive is that Joseph did not commit a turnover in the game. He leads the team with 23 assists on the season, an average of 3.8 per game.

FALCONS SHARE THE ROCK IN WIN OVER AAMU
In the Falcons' 64-47 home win over Alabama A&M on Dec. 6, BGSU dished out a season-high 19 assists. BGSU posted 19 assists on 25 made field goals for the game, as the Falcons shot 50 percent from the field overall in the win. Eight different Falcons registered an assist, while guard David Joseph passed out a team-high eight dimes, a career-high, for the game.

PARKER FINDS THE 3-BALL
Heading into the game at Western Kentucky on Dec. 3, forward Spencer Parker had not made good on a three-pointer all season long and was 0-for-3 on the season from downtown on the season. Against the WKU, Parker found his stroke, as he hit a career-high four 3-balls from long range in the game.

HOLMES' HOUSE - POSTS CAREER DAY ON DICK VITALE COURT IN DETROIT
Holmes posted a career day on Nov. 30 at Detroit, in which he matched his career-high in points with 26 and hauled in a new career-high 18 rebounds in the win. On top of his five blocks in the contest, Holmes also hit the game-winning layup as time expired to give the Falcons the 64-63 road win over the Titans. His 26 point/18 rebound performance was his first double-double of the season and the ninth for his career.

OFFENSIVE LULLS HAUNT FALCONS AT WKU
The Falcons, who shot only 34.5 percent overall as a team for the contest at WKU on Dec. 3, suffered from two offensive lulls during the 40 minute affair in the loss. In the first half, the Falcons went a span of 7:31 without a made field goal and only one free throw, and yet still were down just two points when the drought ended. The second lull would come midway through the second half, as BGSU went a total of 5:58 between made baskets from the 10:46 mark to the 4:58 spot in the final half.

HOLMES' HEROICS LIFT FALCONS OVER DETROIT
With 2.2 seconds left on the game clock, Richaun Holmes cut an inbounds pass at the free throw line, turned and took one dribble down the right side of the lane before flipping up a right handed layup that hit off the backboard and fell through the net as time expired to give the Falcons the 64-63 buzzer beating win. In the victory, Holmes matched his career-high of 26 points, on 10-of-12 shooting, and hauled down a new career-high 18 rebounds. He also added five blocks on the defensive end for BGSU.

CONTROLLING THE PAINT AND GLASS
In BGSU's 62-54 win against Southeast Missouri on Nov. 25, the Falcons controlled the paint and dominated the glass on both ends of the floor. BGSU outscored SEMO 36-20 in points in the paint in the win. The Falcons also out-rebounded the Redhawks 38-30 for the game and hauled down a total of 15 offensive rebounds, which led to 17 second chance points.

BEWARE: NO FIELD GOALS ALLOWED
In the Falcons' 70-55 win over Wright State on Nov. 19, the BGSU defense held the Raiders without a made field goal for the final 10:10 of the second half of the game. Wright State scored just nine points during that span, all of which came from the free throw line.

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)

EXPERIENCED GROUP
The 2014-15 Falcons' roster is an experienced group, as the roster has nine upperclassmen, including six 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-junior 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 six games on ESPN3 – Nov. 30 at Detroit at 3 p.m., Dec. 13 vs. Cleveland State at 4 p.m., 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 six 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 PICKED FIFTH IN MAC PRESEASON POLL
The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team was picked to finish fifth in the Mid-American Conference East Division in 2014-15, according to the MAC's annual Preseason Media Poll. The Falcons, who will be led by first year head coach Chris Jans in 2014-15, received 52 total points in the preseason poll, which included one first-place vote.

ON TAP FOR THE FALCONS
The Falcons will wrap up its non-conference slate on Saturday, Jan. 3, when BGSU will host the Cougars of Chicago State at 7 p.m. in the Stroh Center. The game is the second game of a doubleheader with the BGSU women's basketball team.

EXTRA HITS
* Purchase the MAC PAC today - You can save $20 when you purchase tickets to five home MAC games for only $55!
* Get your season tickets now - Click Here!
* Want to win a $1,000 Gift Card? Find out how by clicking here!
* BGSU Men's Basketball Commercial - Click Here!
* 2014-15 BGSU Men's Basketball Digital Media Guide - Click Here!

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