First Round MAC Tournament Action at the Stroh, Monday at 7 p.m.

Monday, March 9

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Ball State (First Round)

Buy tickets

Photo by: Bianca Garza, BGSU Marketing and Communications

March 08, 2015 | Men's Basketball

By: by Kevin Davis, Assistant Director for Athletic Communications

Ball State (7-22, 2-16 MAC) vs. Bowling Green (19-10, 11-7 MAC)
Monday, March 9, 2015; 7:00 p.m. ET
Stroh Center (4,347) / Bowling Green, Ohio
LIVE STATS
LIVE AUDIO
ESPN3
TV: BCSN
Radio: WFRO-FM 99.1
Twitter: @BGSUMHOOPS
TICKETS
COMPLETE BGSU GAME NOTES (PDF)

2014-15 MAC STANDINGS
EAST TEAMS	MAC	OVERALL
Buffalo	12-6	21-9
Kent State	12-6	21-10
Bowling Green	11-7	19-10
Akron	9-9	18-13
Miami	8-10	13-18
Ohio	5-13	10-19
WEST TEAMS	MAC	OVERALL
Central Michigan	12-6	22-7
Toledo	11-6	19-12
Western Michigan	10-8	19-12
Eastern Michigan	8-10	19-12
Northern Illinois	8-10	14-15
Ball State	2-16	7-22

LAY UPS
* The Falcons swept Ball State in the two teams' two regular season meetings.
* BGSU is 19-32 overall in MAC Championship Tournament history.
* Bowling Green is 8-4 all-time at home when hosting a MAC Tourney game.
* BGSU's No. 5 seed is the highest for the Falcons since being a No. 1 seed in 2009.
* BGSU is hosting a first round MAC Tourney game for the fourth time in the last five years, and the third time overall at the Stroh Center (2012, 2013, 2015).
* The Falcons are 10-5 at home overall this season at home in the Stroh Center.
* BGSU defeated Ball State 58-46 at the Stroh Center on Jan. 17.
* BGSU leads the MAC in scoring defense at 61.4 points per game allowed.
* 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.

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!
Tickets are $15 for reserved chairback and youth tickets are $5. General Admission seating will also be $5. Season ticket holders will have the option to purchase the same tickets they had throughout the season by calling our ticket office or going online to purchase at bgsufalcons.com/tickets. Season ticket holders will have the ability to retain their same seats if they purchase prior to 12:00 p.m. on Monday, March 9. We will be offering general admission seating in Sections 106 through 112 above the rail in rows J through U. In addition, groups 20 or more will receive a $2 ticket in this general admission area. General sales are available online at bgsufalcons.com/tickets, phone (877-BGSU TICKET (247-8842)) and walk up at the BGSU Ticket Office located at the Stroh Center.

COACH'S COMMENTS
"This group of young men have already been in some tough situations and from my perspective every time they've had their backs against the wall they have responded, and I don't see that being any different this time. Certainly, we are going to be in a situation where it is a one and done and everyone is playing for keeps. It's not the route we wanted to take, but we can't change that now and we've certainly made it a little more difficult. They're one game seasons now. We'll regroup, put a game plan together and on Monday we'll be ready to play."

HIGHEST SEED IN FIVE YEARS
The Falcons will enter the 2015 MAC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament as the No. 5 seed having finished in a tie for fourth-place overall in the MAC regular season standings at 11-7, but losing the tie breaker with a head-to-head loss to Toledo. The No. 5 seed is the highest seed for the Falcons heading into the conference tournament since earning the No. 1 seed for the 2009 MAC Championship Tournament with a MAC East regular season championship in 2008-09.

FAMILIAR SITUATION
Despite their best MAC regular season record since 2008-09 at 11-7 overall in league play, the Falcons find themselves in a familiar situation in hosting a first round MAC Men's Basketball Championship Game. The Falcons have hosted five first round games since the 2004 MAC Championship Tournament, including hosting the first round of play for three straight years from 2011-2013.

LOOKING TO SNAP THE FIRST ROUND SKID
Bowling Green is looking to stop its first round skid, as the Falcons have lost three straight first round MAC Championship Tournament contests with losses at Northern Illinois in 2014, at home versus Miami in 2013 and at Central Michigan in 2012. In fact, the Falcons have lost six of its last seven MAC Tournament games that have come in the first round of the postseason event.

COMING IN AS THE NO. 5 SEED
Prior to their No. 5 seed this year, the Falcons have been the No. 5 seed three different times since the MAC Championship Tournament started in 1980. BGSU was first a No. 5 seed at the 1992 championship event, in which the Falcons went 1-1 overall, bowing out in the semifinals with a 70-60 loss to No. 1 Miami. BGSU was once again the No. 5 seed in 1995, as the Falcons suffered a quarterfinals (first round) loss to No. 4 Ball State 72-58. The last time that BGSU was the No. 5 seed was in 1999. That year BGSU defeated No. 4 Akron 80-74 in overtime in the quarterfinals (first round), before falling in overtime 60-56 against No. 1 Miami in the semifinals.

BGSU'S RUN VERSUS THE MAC WEST IN THE TOURNEY CONTINUES
With the Falcons receiving the No. 5 seed and drawing the No. 12 seeded Ball State Cardinals, the Falcons will once again face off with a MAC West foe in the first round of the MAC Championship Tournament for the second straight year and the eighth time over the last 13 years. In fact, BGSU has faced a MAC West opponent in five of their last six MAC Championship Tournament contests.

A WIN WOULD ...
* Advance the Falcons to the second round of the 2015 MAC Championship Tournament.
* Send BGSU to Cleveland, Ohio for the MAC Tourney for the first time since 2011 championship.
* Give the Falcons a 20-10 record overall on the season, the most wins since 24 in 2001-02.
* Put the Falcons at 11-5 at home in the Stroh Center on the season.
* Give the Falcons 20 wins on the season for the first time since posting 24 victories back in 2001-02.
* Extend the Falcons winning streak to seven straight games over the Ball State Cardinals.
* Move BGSU to 8-1 on the season against the MAC West Division.

STROLL DOWN THE MAC MEMORY LANE
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. This year the Falcons were 11-7 in MAC play and recorded their first plus .500 conference slate for the first time since 2011-12.

ON THE VERGE OF 20 WINS
BGSU's 19 wins this season is already more wins than the Falcons had all of last year (12-20) and are the most wins for the Falcons in a single season since posting 19 victories overall in 2011-12. The last time the Falcons posted 20 or more wins in a season was in 2001-02 (24-9).

JANS = INSTANT TURNAROUND
In just his first season at BGSU, head coach Chris Jans has helped the Falcons turn things around instantly. Under Jans in 2014-15, the Falcons have posted 19 overall wins, the most wins in a single season since 19 victories in 2008-09, and 11 MAC victories, the most for a Falcons' squad since 11 conference wins in 2008-09. The nine road wins are also the most for a Falcons' team since the 1999-2000 team tallied eight road victories on the year.

AWAY VS. HOME
On the season, the Falcons have shot the ball better on the road then at home in the Stroh Center. BGSU is averaging 67.4 points per game on the road this year compared to just 64.7 points at home - a difference of 2.7 points per outing. The difference has increased in MAC play as BGSU is averaging 68.9 points per game on road and only 64.7 points at home in conference action this season - a difference of 4.2 points per game. In league play, the Falcons shot 44.0 percent from the field overall on the road, 1.9 percentage points higher than their clip of 42.1 percent at home.

DEFENSE! DEFENSE! DEFENSE!
The Falcons have been solid on the defensive end all year, as BGSU ranks 54th in the nation overall in scoring defense at 61.4 points per game allowed. BGSU is also ranked in the top-five in the MAC in scoring defense (1st/61.4 ppg), field goal percentage defense (2nd/40.7%) and three-point field goal defense (4th/32.5%). Richaun Holmes leads the league in blocked shots with 78, an average of 2.7 per game, while Zack Denny is second in the MAC in steals with 51 steals, an average of 1.8 swipes per contest. Holmes ranks 21st nationally in both blocked shots per game (2.7) and in total blocks (78).

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 over 15 minutes or more of playing time per game this season. In fact, the Falcons have outscored their opponents by 186 points (642-456) in bench points this year, an average of 22.1 points per game off the bench compared to their opponents 15.7 bench points per outing.

OVER/UNDER ON 60
This season, the benchmark in points has been the number 60. The Falcons are 16-5 overall when they score 60 or more points for the contest and just 3-5 when they score less than 60 points. On the flip side, BGSU is 12-1 on the season when holding its opponents to less than 60 points and just 7-9 when surrendering more than 60 points in the game to its foe.

40/40
Bowling Green has posted an overall record of 16-5 on the season when shooting over 40 percent overall from the floor as a team. The Falcons are also 11-2 in games this season when holding its opponent to less than 40 percent shooting for the game.

50 PERCENT SHOOTING = WIN
BGSU has shot 50 percent or better from the floor as a team this season in five different games. The Falcons shot 51.8 percent at Drake on Nov. 15, 50.0 percent vs. Alabama A&M on Dec. 6, 50.0 percent on the road at USF on Dec. 28, 52.8 percent at Central Michigan on Feb. 4, and most recently 50.9 percent at Ball State on Feb. 14. The Falcons are 5-0 this season when shooting 50 percent or better from the field for the game.

TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK
This season, the Falcons have posted single digit turnovers as a team in nine different contests. In fact, BGSU is 7-2 on the season when limiting its miscues to nine or less turnovers for the game. In BGSU's win over Ball State on Feb. 14, the Falcons registered a season-low five turnovers in the road victory. In fact, the Falcons rank 52nd in the nation in fewest turnovers on the year.

WE WILL TAKE THE STAIRS
Bowling Green is 4-0 this season in road games in which the route from the locker room to the court required going either up or down stairs. This includes wins at Detroit (Nov. 30), at Kent State (Jan. 7), at Central Michigan (Feb. 4) and most recently at Miami (Feb. 28).

RETURN TO SENDER
Falcon senior Richaun Holmes has posted a block in all but four games thus far this season and has totaled a season-high five blocks in six different games this year on his way to a team leading 78 blocks on the year. Holmes totaled a new BGSU school record for the most blocks in a single season last year with 88. In just his first two seasons at BGSU, Holmes became the Falcons' all-time career blocks leader and now has 239 career swats. He currently leads the MAC with 2.7 blocks per game this season and ranks 21st overall nationally.

SCORCHING THE NET
For the first time this season, the Falcons scored 80 points in an 81-80 loss to Kent State at home on March 3. The Falcons' season-high 80 points marked the first time BGSU had posted 80 points ore more in a game since tallying 102 points versus Earlham in the 2013-14 season opener. BGSU last totaled 80 points or more against a Division I opponent versus New Orleans in an 87-56 win at home on Feb. 21, 2013.

FALCONS VERSUS THE MAC WEST IN 2015
BGSU fared well versus the MAC West Division over the regular season slate in cross-divisional match ups. The Falcons went 7-1 versus the West Division this season with two wins each over Ball State and Northern Illinois, as well as at Central Michigan and wins at home versus Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan. The Falcons' lone loss to a MAC West team was on the road at Toledo on Jan. 24.

COUNT'EM ON ONE HAND
For the first time since the 2006-07 season, the Falcons were able to count the number of turnovers that they committed on one hand with just five total miscues in the 79-65 road win at Ball State on Feb. 14. The last time BGSU coughed up the ball five times or less in a complete game was against Michigan Tech back on Dec. 27, 2006, when the Falcons committed just four turnovers overall for the contest. The five turnovers is also a season-low for BGSU this year.

FIRST OT WIN IN OVER TWO YEARS
BGSU's 76-74 overtime win on Feb. 4 at Central Michigan not only handed the Chips their first home loss of the season (12-1), but it was also the first overtime win for a Falcons' team since Feb. 2, 2011. The Falcons last overtime win was a 73-70 OT win at NIU during that 2010-11 season.

A SEASON FIRST - FIVE FALCONS IN DOUBLE DIGITS
The Falcons posted a season first on Feb. 4 in the overtime win at Central Michigan, as five different players scored in double digit points for the game. Anthony Henderson (20), Jehvon Clarke (18), Zack Denny (12), Richaun Holmes (10) and Delvin Dickerson (10) all notched 10 points or more in the 76-74 win. The last time BGSU had five players score in double figures in the same game was in a 67-61 road win at Morehead State on Feb. 15, 2013.

FALCONS EARNING MAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
The BGSU duo of Richaun Holmes and Zack Denny combined to win a total of five MAC East Division Men's Basketball Player of the Week awards on the season. Holmes won the award four times - on Dec. 1, Dec. 29, Jan. 12 and Feb. 16 - while Denny received the weekly conference award on Dec. 15.

QUARTET OF 600 POINT CAREER SCORERS
The Falcons currently have a quartet of 600 point career scorers on its roster in Richaun Holmes (1,057), Jehvon Clarke (822), Anthony Henderson (692) and Spencer Parker (664).

HOLMES ETCHES NAME IN THE BGSU HISTORY BOOKS
Senior Richaun Holmes became the 42nd player in BGSU's 100 year history to reach the 1,000 career point mark in the Falcons' 76-65 road win at Ohio on Feb. 24. Holmes became only the 12th Falcon player since 1953-54 to record 1,000 career points and 600 career rebounds. BGSU's career blocks leader also became the first player in Falcons' history to register 1,000 career points, 600 career rebounds and 200 career blocks. He currently has career numbers of 1,057 points, 636 rebounds and 239 career blocks.

JANS MAKES BGSU HISTORY
With the Falcons' 62-57 win over Miami on Feb. 28, head coach Chris Jans became the only head coach in BGSU history to record 19 wins overall in his first year at the helm of the Falcons' program. He surpassed both Hall of Famer Harold Anderson and Bill Fitch, who both had 18 wins in their first years on the bench for BGSU, for the most wins by a first year head coach at BGSU.

HOLMES SHOWS OUT ON SENIOR NIGHT
Senior Richaun Holmes saved his best for last, as the 6-8 forward scored a career-high 29 points on Senior Night on March 3 in an 81-80 loss to Kent State. Holmes was 11-of-20 overall from the floor and 3-of-5 from behind the three-point line. He also pulled down nine rebounds, a game-high, and swatted away four Kent State shot attempts. His previous career-high in points had been 26, which he had done in three different contests over the last two seasons.

PARKER TALLIES FIRST DOUBLE-DOUBLE OF HIS CAREER AT OHIO
Junior forward Spencer Parker recorded his first career double-double as a Falcon in BGSU's 76-65 road win at Ohio on Feb. 24. Parker, who was 7-of-14 shooting from the field for the game overall, scored a team-high 19 points and pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds in 32 minutes of play. The 19 points matched his 2014-15 season-high, while the 10 rebounds tied his career-high.

CHARGE!
BGSU junior Delvin Dickerson seemed to be all over the place in the Falcons' 56-46 home win over NIU on Jan. 27. The forward took not one, not two, not three, but four charges on the NIU offense in the game, which is presumed to be a BGSU record (charges are not an official statistic).

BACK-TO-BACK DOUBLE-DOUBLES FOR DENNY
After posting his first career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds in a 58-46 win over Ball State on Jan. 17, sophomore guard Zack Denny followed with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds in the home rout of Eastern Michigan, 74-58, on Jan. 21. Denny is the first Falcon to post a double-double in two consecutive games since Cameron Black did it on Nov. 26 & 27 of 2013-14 at the Cancun Challenge.

BLOCK NUMBER 200 FOR HOLMES
Senior forward Richaun Holmes tallied his 200th career block in the second half of the Falcons 58-46 win over Ball State on Jan. 17. Holmes, who currently has 239 career swats, is the all-time career blocks leader in BGSU history and the only Falcon ever with over 200 career blocks.

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.

THAT 70'S STROH
BGSU is an impressive 18-1 at the Stroh when scoring 70 points or more in a contest. That means the Falcons have scored 70 or more points in nearly half of their wins in front of the home fans in the Stroh. This season the Falcons have scored 70 or more points at home three times - in a 70-55 win versus Wright State on Nov. 19, in a 74-58 win over Eastern Michigan on Jan. 21, and in an 81-80 loss to Kent State on Mar. 3, their only loss when scoring 70 points or more in the Stroh.

HOME SWEET STROH
BGSU has called the Stroh Center home since the 2011-12 season and has posted an overall record of 40-22 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 went 10-5 at home this year.

WINNING ON THE ROAD
The Falcons are 9-5 overall on the road this season, which are the most true road wins for a BGSU team since the Falcons posted eight in 1999-2000. In fact, the last time the Falcons were over .500 on the road for an entire season was back in 2001-02, when BGSU posted an overall road record of 7-6 on the year.

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.

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.

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 scored by an opponent in the Stroh Center by holding Chicago State to just 35 points for the game, five points less than the previous low of 40 points by Northern Illinois back on Feb. 4, 2012.

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.

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 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.

TEAM IMPACT - ALEX SCHENK IS THE NEWEST FALCON
The BGSU men's basketball team, in working with Team IMPACT signed Alex Schenk as the newest Falcon! Alex, a 13-year-old from Perrysburg, Ohio, was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot - a defect that involves anatomical abnormalities of the heart when he was born. He has had four open heart surgeries, 15 heart caths, one surgery on his lungs, and had a stroke in 2009 leaving his left side weaker. Additionally, Alex had spinal surgery last month and is currently recovering. With all Alex continues to battle through, he truly epitomizes what it means to be a fighter and is sure to be an inspiration to all his new coaches and teammates. Team IMPACT matches courageous kids with local college athletic teams. Team IMPACT children are drafted onto the team and become an official member of the team from Draft Day through to Graduation. The child joins the athletic team and the student-athletes join the child's support team.

EXTRA HITS
* Jans & Falcons Garnering National Attention - Click Here!
* Get your MAC Championship Tournament Tickets now - Click Here!
* BGSU Men's Basketball Commercial - Click Here!
* Follow the BGSU Men's Hoops Team on twitter @BGSUMHoops!
* 2014-15 BGSU Men's Basketball Digital Media Guide - Click Here!

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