BGSU Men's Basketball Hits the Road To Take On The Zips Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Photo by: Bianca Garza, BGSU Marketing and Communications

BGSU Men's Basketball Hits the Road To Take On The Zips Wednesday at 7 p.m.

January 13, 2015 | Men's Basketball

By: by Kevin Davis, Assistant Director for Athletic Communications

Bowling Green (10-3, 2-0 MAC) vs. Akron (10-5, 1-1 MAC)
Wednesday, January 14, 2015; 7:00 p.m. ET
James A. Rhodes Arena (5,500) / Akron, Ohio
LIVE STATS
LIVE AUDIO
LIVE VIDEO
Radio: WFRO-FM 99.1
Twitter: @BGSUMHOOPS
COMPLETE GAME NOTES (PDF)

2014-15 MAC STANDINGS
EAST TEAMS	MAC	OVERALL
Bowling Green	2-0	10-3
Buffalo	1-1	10-4
Akron	1-1	10-5
Kent State	1-1	10-5
Miami	1-1	6-9
Ohio	0-2	5-8
WEST TEAMS	MAC	OVERALL
Ball State	2-0	7-6
Central Michigan	1-1	11-2
Western Michigan	1-1	10-5
Toledo	1-1	9-6
Northern Illinois	1-1	7-6
Eastern Michigan	0-2	11-4

LAY UPS
* Both teams have 10 wins on the season entering Wednesday night's MAC East showdown.
* Bowling Green enters play on Wednesday night on a four game winning streak.
* The Falcons are 2-0 in MAC play for the first time since the 2004-05 season.
* BGSU is 4-2 on the road this season and 1-0 on the road in conference play.
* BGSU's last win over the Zips came on March 1, 2009, a 50-46 road win at Akron, Ohio.
* Both teams hold a +7.0 or more scoring margin over their opponents on the season.
* BGSU is 9-0 when making the same number or more free throws than their opponents.
* BGSU is 9-1 on the year when scoring 60 points or more in the contest.
* BGSU is ranked 68th in RPI by the NCAA RPI rankings and RealTimeRPI.com.
* The Falcons are ranked 65th overall in the 2015 Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings.
* 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 THE AKRON ZIPS
The Zips return home to host the Falcons on Wednesday night, Jan. 14, where they are 8-1 this season, including 1-0 in MAC play with a 72-52 rout of Western Michigan on Jan. 6. However, the Zips are coming off an 84-67 loss at Toledo on Jan. 9. Akron is second in the league in three-pointers made, averaging 8.8 made three-balls for game, while defensively the Zips are second in blocked shots at 4.8 per game and four in steals at 7.5 per outing. The Zips are led by Pat Forsythe, who is averaging 10.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. Akron has nine players averaging double digit minutes of court action on the season.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES WITH AKRON
The Zips of Akron lead the all-time series with the Falcons 24-30 in the 54 meetings between the two teams since their initial match up back in 1938. Akron has dominated the series as of late, winning each of the last 11 meetings between the two teams. In fact, Akron has won 19 of the last 20 games on the hardwood over BGSU. The Falcons last win over the Zips came on March 1, 2009 in a 50-46 road win in Akron, Ohio.

A FORMER FALCON ON THE ZIPS SIDELINE
The Akron sideline will have a former Falcon on the bench in Cameron Black. Black, who is a Graduate Assistant at Akron, wrapped up his four year career at BGSU just last season. The 6-10 center finished his career at BGSU with 155 blocks, which ranks third all-time in BGSU history, and with 623 total rebounds, which is tied for 14th overall in BGSU history. His 51.6 career field goal percentage ranks just outside the top-10 all-time in BGSU history.

COACH'S COMMENTS
   "We're expecting a dog fight at Akron. We've got a lot of respect for Coach Dambrot and his staff, and the program he's built. I'm familiar with him personally and got a lot of respect for him. I know they will be well prepared. I know they have good players and for whatever reason they've had Bowling Green's number for the last 20 games."
   "They are very similar to us in that they have only one guy in double figures, but they've got a lot of capable players up and down the roster. We've played teams that have played 10 guys on a consistent basis, so we're use to preparing for something like that. The thing that sticks out most with them is their ability to spread the floor and have 4 or 5 guys on the floor at one time that are all capable of shooting from behind the arc so it really stresses your defense because they spread you out so much. On top of all that they've got a couple of guys that can score around the basket as well. So our defense will be tested as much or more than they have been tested all year long with the shooters and the inside presence that Akron has."

A WIN WOULD ...
* Give the Falcons an 11-3 record overall on the season.
* Put BGSU at 3-0 in Mid-American Conference play.
* Keep the Falcons atop of the MAC East regular season standings at 3-0.
* Push BGSU to 5-2 on the road overall and 2-0 on the road in MAC play.
* Place Bowling Green at 3-0 to start the MAC season for the first time since 2004-05.
* Hand the Falcons their first win over Akron since March 1, 2009 - a 50-46 win at Akron.
* Snap an 11-game losing streak to the Akron Zips (dating back to March 1, 2009)
* Give the Falcons a five-game winning streak, the longest winning streak of the season.

BOWLING GREEN RECEIVES VOTES IN MID-MAJOR TOP-25 POLL - JAN. 12
BGSU received 50 votes in this week's CollegeInsider.com Men's Mid-Major Top-25 Poll, which was released on Monday, Jan. 12. The 50 votes is a season-high for Bowling Green, which is up from 11 votes last week and surpasses their previous high of 36 votes in the poll back on Dec. 1.

NEW YEAR, NEW MONTH, NEW NAME OF JANSUARY
BGSU tipped off the new 2015 calendar year and the month of JANSuary with a 58-35 blowout win over Chicago State on Jan. 3. BGSU then went on to pick up at 66-64 come from behind win at Kent State on Jan. 7. Most recently, the Falcons led from start to finish in a 69-54 home win over Ohio on Jan. 10. Under head coach Chris Jans, the Falcons are 3-0 for the month of JANSuary.

STROLL DOWN THE MAC MEMORY LANE
Last season in 2013-14, the Falcons posted a 6-12 record in the MAC and finished sixth in the East Division. Since winning the MAC East in 2008-09 with an 11-5 conference record, the Falcons have been over .500 in MAC play just once, going 9-7 overall in league play in 2011-12, coming into this season. Over the last five seasons, since 2009-10, Bowling Green went just 36-46 in MAC play. This year the Falcons are 2-0 in MAC play.

DEFENSE! DEFENSE! DEFENSE! RANKED IN THE TOP-25 NATIONALLY
The Falcons have been solid on the defensive end this season, as BGSU is ranked in the top-25 nationally in scoring defense, allowing only 58.2 points per game thus far this season. The Falcons also rank in the top-five in the MAC in scoring defense (1st/58.2 ppg), three-point field goal defense (3rd/30.5%), field goal percentage defense (2nd/39.3%), defensive rebounding (4th/33.0 per game) and in blocks (4th/4.1 per game). In fact, Bowling Green's Richaun Holmes leads the league in blocked shots with 37, an average of 2.8 per game, while Zack Denny is fourth in the MAC in steals with an average of 1.7 swipes per contest and 22 on the season.

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 16 minutes or more of playing time per game this season. In fact, the Falcons have outscored their opponents by 133 points (310-177) in bench points this year, an average of 23.8 points per game off the bench compared to their opponents 13.6 bench points per outing.

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 four different games this year on his way to a team leading 37 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 198 career swats. He currently leads the MAC with 2.8 blocks per game this season.

MAKE IT THREE FOR HOLMES
Senior Richaun Holmes was tabbed the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Men's Basketball Player of the Week on Jan. 12, his third MAC weekly award this season. The 6-8 forward also earned the award on Dec. 1 and then again on Dec. 29. Holmes, who led BGSU to a 2-0 record last week with wins at Kent State and over Ohio, averaged 19.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 4.0 blocks per game on the week while shooting 60 percent from the field, 75 percent from the three-point line and 83.3 percent from the charity stripe.

COLLEGE SPORTS MADNESS RECOGNIZES RICHAUN HOLMES
On Jan. 12, senior Richaun Holmes was named the Madness Mid-American Men's Basketball Player of the Week by College Sports Madness (www.collegesportsmadness.com) for the second time this season. He also received the weekly honor on Dec. 29.

10 YEARS AGO
BGSU last started the MAC season off at 2-0 in 2004-05 under then head coach Dan Dakich. In fact, the Falcons went 4-0 to start league play that season before finishing the year at 10-8 in conference play.

QUARTET OF 500 POINT CAREER SCORERS
The Falcons currently have a quartet of 500 point career scorers on its roster in Richaun Holmes (824), Jehvon Clarke (663), Anthony Henderson (533) and Spencer Parker (530).

FROM WIRE TO WIRE, FALCONS TAME BOBCATS
The BGSU Falcons led from start to finish in a 69-54 home MAC win over the Ohio Bobcats on Jan. 10. In the win, BGSU led by as much as 21 points late in the second half and outscored Ohio 35-25 over the final 20 minutes of play to secure the double digit win. BGSU controlled the paint for most of the contest, out-rebounding Ohio 41-34 and outscoring the Bobcats 30-14 in points in the paint. The BGSU defense held Ohio to just eight made baskets in the second half (8-of-27), four of which were from behind the three-point line.

BGSU RECENTLY IN MAC OPENERS
With their 66-64 MAC opening win this year at Kent State on Jan. 7, BGSU has gone 8-3 overall in its last 11 Mid-American Conference openers and snapped a two-year losing streak in MAC openers this year. Prior to this season, the Falcons last opened up the MAC slate at 1-0 back in 2011-12 with a 67-57 win at home versus Ohio. Bowling Green last opened up the conference slate with a road win at Buffalo, 74-71, in 2010-11.

NON-CONFERENCE SEASON IS OVER
BGSU went 8-3 over its 11 non-conference games this season. The eight non-conference victories is the most by a Falcons' team since both the 2009-10 and 2008-09 teams each posted eight non-conference wins on the year.

HOLMES HAULS IN 500TH REBOUND
In the Falcons' 58-35 home win over Chicago State on Saturday night, Jan. 3, senior Richaun Holmes pulled down five rebounds for the game. While that is not a game-high in rebounds for the 6-8 forward, it was enough to give him his 500th career rebound during his time at BGSU.

NEW STROH CENTER RECORDS SET TO START 2015
With BGSU's 32 three-point field goal attempts at home versus Chicago State on Jan. 3, the Falcons set a new Stroh Center record for the most three-point attempts by a BGSU team in a single game in the Stroh Center. The previous record was 26 three-point field goal attempts versus Morehead State on Feb. 18, 2012. The Falcons also set a new record in the fewest points allowed in the Stroh Center by holding Chicago State to just 35 points for the game. The new record of 35 points eclipses the old mark of 36 points set by Northern Illinois on Jan. 12, 2014.

RECORD SETTING DEFENSIVE EFFORT FOR BGSU
In the Falcons' 58-35 home win over Chicago State, the 35 points allowed by BGSU was the lowest points total allowed by a Falcons' team in a single game since BGSU held Denison to only 34 points in 1981-82. The 35 points scored by Chicago State is also the fewest points scored by a BGSU opponent in the Stroh Center, five points less than the previous low of 40 points by Northern Illinois back on Feb. 4, 2012.

HOME SWEET STROH
BGSU has called the Stroh Center home since the 2011-12 season and has posted an overall record of 36-18 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 6-1 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.

BGSU UNDEFEATED FOLLOWING A LOSS THIS SEASON
With the Falcons 79-70 win over South Florida on Dec. 28, head coach Chris Jans' squad improved to 3-0 in games following a loss in their previous contest. After a loss at Western Kentucky (52-62), the Falcons beat up on Alabama A&M (64-47). Following the tough loss at Dayton (52-56), BGSU bounced back to defeat Cleveland State by double digits (67-57). Most recently, BGSU upended USF (79-70) after suffering a loss to Ferris State (68-82) at home on Dec. 21.

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.

STRONG SECOND HALF PROPELS BGSU TO WIN AT KENT STATE
The Falcons outscored Kent State 40-29 over the final 20 minutes of play to erase a 15-point first half deficit in the 66-64 MAC road win on Wed., Jan. 7. BGSU shot 50 percent (15-of-30) in the second half, including going 6-of-8 (75 percent) from behind the three-point line in the come from behind win. The Falcons also shot a season-high 90.9 percent (10-of-11) from the free throw line in the win, it's largest come from behind win on the season.

SPENCER SHINES IN FINAL MINUTES OF KENT STATE WIN
After not scoring at all in the first half of play, junior Spencer Parker scored 16 points in the second half to lead the Falcons to the 66-64 road win at Kent State on Jan. 7. The forward scored a total of 12 points over the final 5:33 to play, including knocking down a three-pointer from the left wing to put BGSU in front at 58-56 and then hit another trey with 46 seconds left to push BGSU's lead to four at 64-60.

FALCONS FLY PAST CHICAGO STATE WITH THE THREE-BALL
BGSU matched its season-high with 11 made three-pointers in a 58-35 rout of the Cougars of Cleveland State on Jan. 3. The Falcons, who also made 11 three-pointers in the season opening win at Drake on Nov. 15, had five different players hit at least one three-pointer in the win.

FALCONS LIGHT UP THE SUN DOME IN 79-70 ROAD WIN OVER USF
The Falcons had four players score in double figures and shot 50 percent overall (26-of-52) from the field for the game as a team on its way to a 79-70 non-conference road win over the University of South Florida on Dec. 28. BGSU shot 56 percent (14-of-25) in the second half alone, including knocking down 5-of-8 (62.5 percent) three-point attempts over the final 20 minutes of play. With the Falcons' hot shooting, BGSU improved to 3-0 on the year when shooting over 50 percent as a team for the game.

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.

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 RANGE IN WIN AT WKU
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.

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.

FALCONS SIGN THREE EARLY
On Nov. 12, BGSU head men's basketball coach Chris Jans announced the signings 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 State University beginning in the Fall of 2015.

ON TAP FOR THE FALCONS
The Falcons will next be in action on Saturday, Jan. 17, as BGSU will return home to host Ball State at 4 p.m. ET in the Stroh Center. The Orange and Brown will remain at home to welcome Eastern Michigan to the Stroh Center on Wednesday, Jan. 21, at 7 p.m.

EXTRA HITS
* Purchase the MAC PAC today - You can save $20 when you purchase tickets to five home MAC games for only $55!
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* Make plans to attend the next BG home game by checking out the 2014-15 schedule here!
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* BGSU Men's Basketball Commercial - Click Here!
* 2014-15 BGSU Men's Basketball Digital Media Guide - Click Here!

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