Falcons Host Morgan State On Saturday Afternoon

OPENING TIP
* A win would be Bowling Green's 50th victory at the Stroh Center. The Falcons are 49-33 in the Stroh Center Era.
* Bowling Green is coming off a thrilling 78-77 win over Murray State in the Bill Frack Tournament. Zack Denny hit the game-winning three with 53 seconds left in regulation.
* The Falcons avoided their first 0-5 start since the 1991-92 season by knocking off Murray State on Nov. 21. After that 1991-92 team started 0-5, they finished the last 24 games with a 14-10 record.
* A relatively small team, BGSU has not struggled to rebound the basketball this season. Bowling Green ranks 66th in the nation in rebounds per game (40.8).
* Michael Huger is in his second year at the helm of his alma mater. In his first year as head coach, Huger led the Falcons to a 16-18 record. The season concluded with the program's first trip to the MAC Tournament semifinals since 2009.

HUGER'S THOUGHTS ON MORGAN STATE
"After dropping four close games to start the season, I was proud of our team for coming together, making adjustments and defeating a terrific Murray State team to close out the Bill Frack Tournament. We met as a team after our loss to Green Bay and talked about getting back to having fun. From top to bottom, coaches to players to managers, we all needed to have fun with each other in order to turn the corner, and our game against Murray State was as fun as it gets. Next up, we have an incredibly athletic Morgan State team, who has been playing well so far this season. Morgan State is the first zone defensive team we will face, so it will be a great challenge and change for our guys offensively. Transition defense, quick ball movement and rebounding will all be major keys to this game. Above all else, we will need to continue to have fun together as a team!"

SCOUTING THE MORGAN STATE BEARS
Morgan State will enter Saturday's game with a 2-3 record. The Bears recently lost to Brown (Nov. 23), but prior to that game, had won two-consecutive games by earning victories over Wilmington (Nov. 17) and Campbell (Nov. 19). Junior college transfer Tiwian Kendley has been prolific scoring the basketball season, as he's averaging 21.2 points per game on 35.7 percent shooting. Junior Phillip Carr, another junior college transfer, who played his first season at Morgan State last year, is second on the team in scoring (17.8) and first on the squad in rebounding (8.6). Two other players for the Bears, Kyle Thomas (10.8) and David Syfax (10.2), are also averaging double figures. Morgan State does not rely on the three ball, as they make only 4.2 triples per game, but the Bears have been scoring 19.2 points per game from the line by shooting 78.0 percent from the charity stripe.

WIN NO. 50 AT THE STROH CENTER
A win over Morgan State would mark Bowling Green's 50th victory at the Stroh Center. The Falcons are 49-33 overall in the Stroh Center Era. The Stroh Center opened for the 2011-12 season, and across that season, BGSU won a building-high 12 games. The Falcons went 7-8 last year at home, and are off to a 1-2 start at the Stroh Center in 2016-17.

FALCONS CONCLUDE BILL FRACK TOURNAMENT WITH DRAMATIC VICTORY
With just 53 seconds on the clock, and the Falcons down by two points, senior Zack Denny gave BGSU its first win of 2016 by nailing a three-pointer. The three gave Bowling Green a 78-77 victory over Murray State on Nov. 21 at the Stroh Center. The game concluded the first-ever Bill Frack Tournament, which was played over Nov. 19-21. The three-day tournament featured a solid mid-major pool, as UMKC, Green Bay and Murray State participated in the tournament that was a tribute to longtime Falcon supporter William D. Frack. Bowling Green was defeated by UMKC (Nov. 19) and Green Bay (Nov. 21) to begin the tournament. The Falcons lost a jumper with less than three seconds left in the UMKC game, and played Green Bay tough into the second half, before the Phoenix pulled away with a 16-point victory.

WIGGINS WINNING GAMES FROM THE FREE THROW LINE
Sophomore forward Demajeo Wiggins has improved his shooting from the free throw line immensely. Last season, Wiggins was a 37.9 percent shooter from the charity stripe. In 2016-17, Wiggins is shooting 77.8 percent from the line. Furthermore, Wiggins has made just one less free throw this season than he did all of last season, and he's attempted 31 less shots. Wiggins is 21-of-27 from the free throw line this season. He was 22-for-58 in 2015-16. Wiggins' free throw shooting played a huge factor in Bowling Green's one-point victory over Murray State on Nov. 21, as the sophomore went 9-for-10 from the line.

MATT FOX EARNS SCHOLARSHIP
Michael Huger announced just hours before the Murray State (Nov. 21) game that the program would be putting junior guard Matt Fox on scholarship. Fox joined the program for the 2014-15 season as a walk-on, but he's been playing a significant role for this year's Falcons. Fox is averaging 17.6 minutes this season, and is averaging 4.8 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.

CLEANING UP THE GLASS
Heading into the season, not many individuals thought that the Falcons would be a strong rebounding team. Wes Alcegaire, who played the wing last season, has shifted into more of a post role. The 6-foor-7 Alcegaire is playing the stretch forward position that Spencer Parker played last season. On the wing, Zack Denny and Antwon Lillard are thought of more as guards than forwards. However, with all that being said, the Falcons rank 66th in the country, and are in the top half in the MAC in rebounding, as BGSU is averaging 40.8 rebounds per game. Bowling Green has won the rebounding battle in three of its first five games, and lost the battle by just a single board against Green Bay (Nov. 20).

DEEP FRYE
In Bowling Green's 78-77 win over Murray State (Nov. 21), freshman guard Dylan Frye connected on the first three-pointers of his career. The Pembroke Pines, Florida native went 3-for-6 from the field, and 2-for-3 from downtown. Frye hit back-to-back threes in the first half, and finished the game with a career-high nine points. Frye also registered a rebound, assist and steal in the ballgame.

TWON HAS BEEN TERRIFIC IN A STARTING ROLE
Sophomore guard Antwon Lillard has made seven career starts. Lillard made three starts last season, all of which came in the MAC Tournament, and has now started four of BGSU's five games this season. The sophomore has scored in double digits in five of those seven starts. Over the weekend, Lillard shot 7-of-12 for 19 points against UMKC (Nov. 19), and then connected on 7-of-9 field goal attempts for 15 points against Green Bay (Nov. 20). Across those seven starts in the Orange and Brown for Lillard, the Cleveland, Ohio native is averaging 13.7 points per game.

ALCEGAIRE IS A SELFLESS SENIOR LEADER
Wes Alcegaire, a senior forward, continues add value to this year's team. Alcegaire, a more traditional small forward, has been tasked to start at the four this season for the Falcons, taking over the position that Spencer Parker played last season. Alcegaire is second on the team in scoring at 12.5 points per game. In the 2016 opener at Oakland (Nov. 11), Alcegaire connected on 4-of-7 attempts from three-point range, and ended up with 19 points. The 19 points were just two off from his career high, which was set last year against Youngstown State, when he played 13 more minutes than he did at Oakland. Alcegaire went 3-for-6 from three-point range in the win over Murray State (Nov. 21), and has scored at least nine points in every game this season. A well-rounded player, the senior is also averaging 4.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.

CALDWELL CANS THREES AFTER ROUGH SHOOTING NIGHT
Freshman Rodrick Caldwell made his Falcon debut by starting the season opener. Caldwell managed the team from the point guard position nicely, as he had six assists and just one turnover in 29 minutes. He also added six rebounds, but he went on to shoot 1-of-16 from the floor. Just two days later, Caldwell showed up big at South Dakota. He went 3-of-5 from the field, and 3-of-4 from downtown. Caldwell hit back-to-back threes in the second half to single-handedly erase a six-point deficit. Across both games, Caldwell had seven assists while committing two turnovers.

UJU COMES THROUGH IN DIVISION I DEBUT
Junior Jeffrey Uju has never given up, clearly, on his goal to play Division I men's basketball. Uju played his first two seasons of college basketball in the JUCO circuit, and at two different schools, nonetheless. After playing the 2014-15 season at Eastern Wyoming College and the 2015-16 season at Western Texas College, Uju played his first Division I game on Nov. 11 in BGSU's season opener at Oakland. In 17 minutes, the junior hauled in a team-high seven rebounds, and scored five points on a perfect 2-for-2 night from the floor. Uju also connected on his only three-point attempt, which trimmed a 10-point deficit to single digits in the second half. Uju was leading the team in rebounds at 5.0 per game through the first two games of the season, but has been sidelined ever since with a lower-body injury.

THE BOWLING GREEN SOPHOMORE BIG MEN
Sophomore forwards Demajeo Wiggins and Rasheed Worrell are often the biggest BGSU players on the court. Wiggins has started the Falcons' last 12 games dating back to the 2015-16 season, while Worrell has turned into a huge spark plug off the bench. Wiggins nearly notched his first-career double-double vs. Murray State (Nov. 21), as he scored 13 points and nine rebounds. Wiggins is averaging a team-high 8.2 rebounds this season, while Worrell is leading the BGSU bench in scoring and rebounds. He is averaging 7.2 points, and 5.2 rebounds. Worrell is shooting 43.2 from the field, and ranks tied for the first on the team with two dunks.

DENNY APPROACHING CAREER MILESTONES
Senior guard Zack Denny is approaching a few significant career milestones. The senior connected on 52 three-pointers in 2015-16, which ran his total to 105 for his career. After nailing three triples over the weekend, Denny is just 11 made three-point field goals shy of tying Jordon Crawford (2009-13) for 10th most all-time in program history. Denny, who has made 52 and 50 three-pointers, respectively, over the past two seasons, would rank sixth all-time if he hit another 50 long balls this season. Denny is also 261 points shy of becoming the 44th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. The Germantown, Ohio native scored 361 points last season.

YEAR TWO OF THE MICHAEL HUGER ERA
After guiding the Falcons to a 16-18 record last season, head coach Michael Huger has begun his second season at the helm of his alma mater. Huger has brought some needed stability to the program, as the 2016-17 season will mark the first time that the Falcons will have a head coach for back-to-back seasons since 2013-14. The former Falcon guard will look to build off an exciting run at last year's MAC Tournament. The Orange and Brown defeated both Kent State and Central Michigan, two team's that beat BGSU twice during the regular season, to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2009.

FALCONS RETURN YOUNG CORE FOR 2016-17
Bowling Green returns a large portion of last year's team that reached the conference tournament semifinals. Michael Huger has built a strong, and young foundation that will look to continue to improve. Last season, three freshmen – Antwon Lillard, Demajeo Wiggins and Rasheed Worrell – combined to make 38 starts. Additionally, eight of Bowling Green's 13 man roster are underclassmen, and BGSU returns five of last season's top six leading scorers. BGSU returns its top five field goal percentage shooters, as well as its leaders in assists (Ali), blocks (Worrell) and steals (Denny) from a season ago. Furthermore, the Orange and Brown return 74.3 percent of its rebounding and 72.4 percentage of its made three-point field goals from the 2015-16 season.

FALCONS INK FOUR DURING EARLY SIGNING PERIOD
On the eve of the college basketball season (Nov. 10), Bowling Green announced the signing of four future student-athletes to National Letters of Intent. Nelly Cummings (Midland, Pa. / Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School), Joniya Gadson (Fort Lauderdale, Fla. / Dillard High School), Derek Koch (West Salem, Ohio / Northwestern High School) and Daeqwon Plowden (Philadelphia, Pa. / Mastery Charter North School) are set to join the program for the 2017-18 season. More information can be found at BGSUFalcons.com.

RICHAUN HOLMES STUFFS THAT STAT SHEET IN WIN OVER WIZARDS
Richaun Holmes, the 2014-15 MAC Defensive Player of the Year and the 37th overall selection in the 2015 NBA Draft, became known at Bowling Green for making an impact in a variety of categories on the final stat sheet. In a Nov. 16 game last week against the Washington Wizards, Holmes put up big numbers. Holmes scored eight points on 3-of-3 shooting, which included a 2-for-2 mark from three-point range. Holmes also added three rebounds, three steals and two assists. As of Nov. 25, Holmes has appeared in 63 NBA games. He's made one start apiece in each of his first two years in the association. Holmes and the Knicks' Maurice Ndour (Ohio) are the only active players in the league from the Mid-American Conference.

#BGinItaly
Due largely in part to Bill Frack's extreme generosity, financial commitment and unwavering support towards the men's basketball program, the team went on an 11-day cultural immersion tour in Italy from Aug. 8-18. The program spent days in Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan and Lake Como, and saw some of the most famous landmarks in Italian history. The Falcons traveled to The Vatican, spent time inside the Roman Colosseum, visited the Ferrari Museum and saw the famous gondolas in Venice, among many other stops, which include Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. The Orange and Brown also played four games, and accumulated a 3-1 record while playing professional and national competition.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Orange and Brown will have a quick turnaround after Saturday's game. The Falcons will host Notre Dame College on Nov. 29. The ballgame is slated for a 7 p.m. tip. Bowling Green knocked off Notre Dame College in an exhibition matchup last year, 74-65. After the Notre Dame College game, the Falcons will hit the road for a pair of difficult road games against Cincinnati (Dec. 4) and Evansville (Dec. 6).

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