Men's Basketball Wraps Up Non-Conference Play on Saturday Versus Chicago State

Saturday, January 3

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Chicago State

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Photo by: Doug Sampson

Men's Basketball Wraps Up Non-Conference Play on Saturday Versus Chicago State

January 02, 2015 | Men's Basketball

By: by Kevin Davis, Assistant Director for Athletic Communications

Chicago State (4-12, 0-0 WAC) vs. Bowling Green (7-3, 0-0 MAC)
Saturday, January 3, 2015; 7:00 p.m. ET
Stroh Center (4,347) / Bowling Green, 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
Buffalo	0-0	8-3
Kent State	0-0	8-4
Akron	0-0	8-4
Bowling Green	0-0	7-3
Ohio	0-0	5-6
Miami	0-0	4-8
WEST TEAMS	MAC	OVERALL
Eastern Michigan	0-0	11-2
Central Michigan	0-0	9-1
Western Michigan	0-0	8-4
Toledo	0-0	7-5
Northern Illinois	0-0	5-5
Ball State	0-0	4-6

LAY-UPS
* This is only the second meeting between these two teams. The lone other contest was played back in the 1970-71 season, a 107-70 win for the Falcons.
* BGSU is 4-1 at home this season at the Stroh Center.
* This is the final non-conference game for the Falcons (7-3) this season.
* The Falcons are 3-0 when shooting over 50 percent from the field for the game.
* Bowling Green is 6-0 when making more free throws than their opponents.
* BGSU is 7-1 on the year when scoring 60 points or more in the contest.
* BGSU has three active players (Holmes, Clarke & Henderson) with over 500 career points.
* Richaun Holmes is only five rebounds away from pulling down 500 career boards.
* 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.

CONCESSIONS COUPON WITH WINTERFEST TICKET
Fans make sure to bring your Winterfest tickets to the Stroh! Fans who show their Winterfest ticket at the ticket windows will receive a free concessions coupon for either one free 12-oz. Fountain Drink or one free box of popcorn!

SCOUTING THE COUGARS OF CHICAGO STATE
The Cougars are 4-12 overall on the season and have struggled on the road going 0-9 thus far this season in road contests. After starting the season at 2-2, the CSU dropped eight straight contests, including an 87-59 loss at Toledo on Dec. 6, before going 2-2 over their last four games. Chicago State is coming off a 54-50 road loss at Green Bay on Dec. 31. CSU, who is shooting only 38 percent from the field overall on the year, have 12 different players averaging over 10.5 minutes of action per contest and 13 total players that have seen time in at least 10 games this season.

THE SERIES WITH THE CHICAGO STATE COUGARS
BGSU is 1-0 all-time versus Chicago State on the hardwood. The Falcons defeated the Cougars 107-70 at home in Anderson Arena back on Dec. 1, 1970.

CURRENT FALCONS VERSUS CHICAGO STATE
None of the current Falcons on the 15-man roster have ever played against the Cougars of Chicago State. In fact, none of the Falcons were even born yet.

FAMILIAR FACE FOR THE COUGARS
Chicago State has a familiar face in Toledo native Anthony Glover returning to the area this Saturday night. Glover, who went to St. John's Jesuit, had 15 points and two assists in his return home versus Toledo on Dec. 6, 2014.

TWO FALCONS LOOKING FOR CAREER MARK #500
BGSU has two players in search of a career milestone of 500 on Saturday night. Senior Richaun Holmes enters the contest with 495 career rebounds, only five away from the 500 mark. Junior Spencer Parker is sitting on 499 career points as a Falcon heading into Saturday night's contest. With just one made basket or free throw, Parker will reach the 500 career point mark, joining Holmes (777), Jehvon Clarke (645) and Anthony Henderson (502) as the three other active Falcons with over 500 career points.

COACH'S COMMENTS
"Obviously this is our last game heading into MAC play. I think it is important that we end the non-conference portion of our schedule with some positive momentum. We're coming off a nice road win at South Florida and so we could end that portion of the year with two wins which would be really good heading into the conference schedule."

"Chicago State is very unique in that they've played 18 guys this year. So on any given night, you're not really exactly sure heading into the game who is going to start and who is going to play the majority of the minutes. They have three or four core guys, but they've changed starting lineups almost every game. For scouting purposes you know there are a lot of guys to keep track of heading into the game. They play very hard and that's the thing that probably sticks out the most – just how hard they play regardless of the score. They compete. They fly around the court. They play multiple defenses and they just come at you with those waves of players. We will have plenty of things we are going to have to deal with come Saturday."

"It was nice to see the ball go through the net (at South Florida). You know, we shot the ball at a high clip. I say this all the time; I just think shooting becomes contagious. One of the guys makes a basket or two, it just kind of creeps through the team and everybody feels that momentum and I thought that is what happened at South Florida. It became contagious for all of us."

A WIN WOULD ...
* Give the Falcons an 8-3 record overall and in non-conference play heading into MAC play.
* Push BGSU to 5-1 at home in the Stroh Center this season.
* Put Bowling Green at 2-0 all-time versus Chicago State.
* Give the Falcons back-to-back wins for their first time this season since opening the year with four straight wins.

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 121 points (260-139) in bench points this year, an average of 26.0 points per game off the bench compared to their opponents 13.9 bench points per outing.

DEFENSE! DEFENSE! DEFENSE!
The Falcons have been solid on the defensive end this season, as BGSU ranks in the top-five in the MAC in scoring defense (2nd/60.4 ppg), three-point field goal defense (3rd/31.1%), field goal percentage defense (4th/40.4%), blocks (4th/3.9 per game) and defensive rebounding (4th/32.4 per game). In fact, Bowling Green's Richaun Holmes leads the league in blocked shots with 25, an average of 2.5 per game, while Zack Denny is third in the MAC in steals with an average of 1.7 swipes per contest and 17 on the season.

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 25 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 186 career swats. He currently leads the MAC with 2.5 blocks per game this season.

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.

HOLMES NAMED MADNESS MAC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK (DEC. 29)
Senior Richaun Holmes was named the Madness Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week, by College Sports Madness (www.collegesportsmadness.com) on Monday, Dec. 29. The 6-8 forward had a team-high 19 points, nine rebounds and four blocks on Dec. 28, as BGSU went on the road to defeat the University of South Florida, 79-70. The win was the first-ever win for the Falcons over the Bulls. He also had five offensive rebounds in the game as well. Holmes had a put back dunk over two USF defenders with less than three minutes to go in the contest to help seal the road win for the Falcons.

RICH PICKS UP HIS SECOND MAC EAST POTW HONOR FOR 2014-15
Richaun Holmes picked up his second Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball East Division Player of the Week honor of the season on Monday, Dec. 29, as he led the Falcons to a 79-70 road win over South Florida on Dec. 28 at the Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida. Holmes' honor this week marks the third time this season that a Falcon has earned the conference weekly honor (Holmes – Dec. 1, Zack Denny – Dec. 15, Holmes – Dec. 29).

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.

FIRST CAREER START = CAREER HIGH POINTS FOR AUSTIN
Junior guard Jovan Austin made the best of his first start as a Falcon on Dec. 28 versus South Florida, as the lefty posted a BGSU career-high 11 points in 28 minutes of play 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.

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.

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 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.

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
BGSU will open up MAC play on the road Wednesday, Jan. 7, at Kent State at 7 p.m. The Falcons will then return home to host Ohio on Saturday, Jan. 10, at 4 p.m. in the Stroh Center.

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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