Men's Basketball Opens Up MAC Play at Kent State on Wednesday, Jan. 7

Wednesday, January 7

Kent, Ohio

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Kent State

Tickets

Photo by: Doug Sampson

Men's Basketball Opens Up MAC Play at Kent State on Wednesday, Jan. 7

January 06, 2015 | Men's Basketball

By: by Kevin Davis, Assistant Director for Athletic Communications

Bowling Green (8-3, 0-0 MAC) vs. Kent State (9-4, 0-0 MAC)
Wednesday, January 7, 2015; 7:00 p.m. ET
Memorial Athletic & Convocation (M.A.C.) Center (6,327) / Kent, 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	9-3
Kent State	0-0	9-4
Akron	0-0	9-4
Bowling Green	0-0	8-3
Ohio	0-0	5-6
Miami	0-0	5-8
WEST TEAMS	MAC	OVERALL
Eastern Michigan	0-0	11-2
Central Michigan	0-0	10-1
Western Michigan	0-0	9-4
Toledo	0-0	8-5
Northern Illinois	0-0	6-5
Ball State	0-0	5-6

LAYUPS
* Wednesday night's contest will be the 2014-15 MAC opener for both teams.
* Last season, BGSU went 3-6 on the road in MAC play.
* BGSU last opened up the MAC at 1-0 in 2011-12, a 67-57 home win over Ohio.
* The Falcons last posted a MAC opening win on the road in 2010-11 at Buffalo (74-71).
* BGSU is 3-2 on the road this season with wins at Drake, at Detroit and at South Florida.
* The Falcons are 3-0 when shooting over 50 percent from the field for the game.
* Bowling Green is 7-0 when making more free throws than their opponents.
* BGSU is 7-1 on the year when scoring 60 points or more in the contest.
* The Falcons have four active players (Holmes, Clarke, Henderson & Parker) with over 500 career points.
* 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 KENT STATE GOLDEN FLASHES
The Golden Flashes of Kent State enter MAC play on Wednesday night, Jan. 7, with a 9-4 overall record and a 5-2 record at home in the M.A.C. Center. Kent State, who was picked to finish third in the East in the MAC preseason poll, is coming off a 74-54 home win over Texas-Pan American on Jan. 2. Defensively, the Golden Flashes are ranked third in the MAC in scoring defense holding its opponents to 59.9 points per game, while on the offensive side Kent State ranks third in three-point field percentage shooting at a clip of 38 percent from long range. The Golden Flashes are led by Jimmy Hall's 14.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, yet two other players in Devareaux Manley and Kris Brewer each are averaging over 10 points per game on the year. Guard Derek Jackson leads the team in both assists with 45 and in steals with 28 on the season.

THE SERIES WITH KENT STATE
The BGSU versus Kent State series dates back all the way to 1917 when the two teams first met on Jan. 23, 1917 in Kent, Ohio. BGSU, who lost that meeting 19-17 versus Kent, leads the overall series 83-69. The two teams split last season's meetings, with each team posting a win on their home floor, yet Kent State has won six out of the last 10 meetings between the Falcons and the Golden Flashes. In fact, Bowling Green has not won at Kent State since a 76-70 win back on Jan. 17, 2010, dropping each of its last four attempts at the M.A.C. Center.

COACH'S COMMENTS
"We are looking forward to our first MAC season as a coaching staff. There will be a lot of unknowns for myself, our staff and a lot of our players. Being in league play won't be unknown to us, just specific to the MAC. What normally happens in conference races is scouting goes up a notch, level of intensity goes up a notch, and there is more familiarity with styles, programs and players all the way across the board. For us we'll have a lot of catching up to do because most of these teams and styles of play will be foreign to us. But at the same time, our style and our team will be foreign to them as well. So I am not sure there is an advantage or disadvantage either way."

"I think Kent State is awfully good. I think that they have a lot of pieces on the floor at the same time. They got great guards out front that can shoot it and drive it. They have an experienced point guard in Jackson that is like the engine of the car that gets them going. They also have some medium sized guys that can slash to the basket and then they've got plenty of size and athleticism around the basket with Hall leading the way with 14 points and eight rebounds per game. I just really like their pieces that they've put together. They got enough depth and they do a lot of things well. They fight you on defense and give you some different looks. They rebound the heck out of the basketball, especially on the offensive glass. They get their athleticism into the game. It is going to be a tough road conference opener for us."

"Obviously everybody wants to win every game. I mean that's why you prepare and work, and do all the things that you do in order to put yourself in position to win these games, but they all count the same. Certainly we want to win on Wednesday night, but there is going to be 18 of them (MAC games) and the ones in early January count the same as the ones in mid-February. So I would say it is important to get off to a good start, but it is a long grind, marathon type, conference schedule."

A WIN WOULD ...
* Give the Falcons a 9-3 record overall on the season.
* Put BGSU at 1-0 in Mid-American Conference play.
* Push BGSU to 4-2 on the road on the year and 1-0 on the road in MAC play.
* Hand the Falcons their first win at Kent State since a 76-70 win back on Jan. 17, 2010.
* Place Bowling Green at 1-0 to start the MAC season for the first time since 2011-12.
* Mark the first BGSU win on the road to open up MAC play since the 2010-11 season.
* Give the Falcons a three-game winning streak, their second longest winning streak of the year.
* Hand Coach Chris Jans his first-ever MAC victory.
* Make Chris Jans the fifth straight BGSU coach to win his first-ever MAC game on the sidelines (Orr, Dakich, Larranaga, Weinert).

BOWLING GREEN RECEIVES VOTES IN MID-MAJOR TOP-25 POLL - JAN. 5
Bowling Green received 11 votes in this week's CollegeInsider.com Men's Mid-Major Top-25 Poll, which was released on Monday, Jan. 5. The Falcons received a season-high 36 votes in the weekly poll back on Dec. 1.

BGSU RECENTLY IN MAC OPENERS
BGSU has gone 7-3 overall in its last 10 Mid-American Conference openers, yet have not won a MAC opening contest in each of the last two years. 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.

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 last Saturday, Jan. 3. Under head coach Chris Jans, the Falcons are 1-0 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. Over the last five seasons, since 2009-10, Bowling Green has gone 36-46 in MAC play.

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/58.1 ppg), field goal percentage defense (2nd/39.4%), three-point field goal defense (3rd/30.1%), blocks (4th/4.0 per game) and defensive rebounding (4th/32.6 per game). In fact, Bowling Green's Richaun Holmes leads the league in blocked shots with 29, an average of 2.6 per game, while Zack Denny is tied for second in the MAC in steals with an average of 1.7 swipes per contest and 19 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 119 points (277-158) in bench points this year, an average of 25.2 points per game off the bench compared to their opponents 14.4 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 three different games this year on his way to a team leading 29 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 190 career swats. He currently leads the MAC with 2.6 blocks per game this season.

STARTS = CAREER HIGHS 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. In his second start, Austin dished out a career-high seven assists in 18 minutes of action versus Chicago State on Jan. 3.

QUARTET OF 500 POINT CAREER SCORERS
The Falcons currently have a quartet of 500 point career scorers on its roster in Richaun Holmes (786), Jehvon Clarke (656), Anthony Henderson (516) and Spencer Parker (505).

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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 35-18 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 5-1 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.

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.

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 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 return home to host Ohio on Saturday, Jan. 10, at 4 p.m. in the Stroh Center in the home MAC opener.

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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