Falcons Fly To California To Battle San Jose State On Sunday

OPENING TIP

* Bowling Green and San Jose State will meet for just the second time ever on Sunday. San Jose State won the only game in series history in 1950 by a score of 49-48.
* The Falcons will be in search of their first road win of 2016-17. Bowling Green is 0-4 on the road. BGSU has lost three games by single digits on the road. The Orange and Brown lost by eight points at Oakland (Nov. 11), while dropping a six-point game at South Dakota (Nov. 13) and a three-point contest at Evansville (Dec. 6).
* Bowling Green is coming off a 74-61 victory over Detroit Mercy on Dec. 10. The win was BGSU's fourth-consecutive at the Stroh Center.
* The Falcons' win over Detroit Mercy was also Michael Huger's 20th as a head coach.
* Senior Zack Danny has scored in double figures in each of Bowling Green's last eight games.
* Freshmen Dylan Frye and Rodrick Caldwell established new career highs for points scored last game with 18 and 13, respectively. Frye also hit a career-best four three-pointers.

HUGER'S THOUGHTS ON SAN JOSE STATE
"Our next game will be exciting, as we get to take Ish Ali back home to play in front of his friends and family in California. We promise our players that we will take them home for at least one game in their careers here at BGSU, and we are all excited for this trip. We will need to build on our second-half performance against Detroit Mercy, and continue to move the ball on offense. Last game sent a message that the players who rise to the challenge will be the ones who play. Our game against San Jose State will be no different. They are a terrific defensive team, so we will need a disciplined effort from start to finish."

SCOUTING THE SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS
Bowling Green has not faced a team on the road this season with a losing record, and Sunday will be no different, as the Spartans own an overall record of 5-4. The Spartans have won four of their last five games, including a signature win on the road at Washington State of the Pac-12. Fourth-year head coach Dave Wojcik holds a 23-78 mark at SJSU, but the Spartans have increased their win totals over each of the past two seasons – both overall and in Mountain West Conference play. Sophomore forward Brandon Clarke has been SJSU's do-it-all player in 2016-17. Clarke leads the team in scoring (13.8 PPG) and rebounding (7.2 RPG), while also averaging a team-high 1.9 blocks per game. Ryan Welage, another sophomore forward, ranks second on the team in both points and rebounds, as he's averaging 12.9 and 5.4, respectively.

HOMECOMING FOR ISMAIL ALI
Michael Huger and his staff promise all incoming players at least one game close to their hometown. Senior guard Ismail Ali will be coming home for Sunday's (Dec. 18) game at San Jose State University. Ali's hometown of South Hayward, California is located about 45 minutes away from the campus of SJSU. Ali is expected to have a large group of family and friends in attendance in support of the Falcons. Ali has had five-plus assists in five of the last six ballgames. After averaging 3.8 assists in 2015-16, the senior floor general is up to 5.4 assists per game this season. Along with his distribution numbers, Ali's scoring and rebounding numbers are also up from a year ago. On the season, he's averaging 6.2 points 2.4 rebounds.

FALCONS DOMINATE DETROIT MERCY IN SECOND HALF
Bowling Green erased a seven-point halftime deficit last Saturday (Dec. 10) to earn a 74-61 victory over Detroit Mercy. The win pushed BGSU's record to 4-6 on the young season. After Detroit Mercy scored the first bucket of the second half, which bumped its advantage up to nine points at 40-31 at the 18:38 mark, the Falcons went on a 16-0 run. Over that 16-0 run, the Orange and Brown held Detroit Mercy scoreless for 6:55. Over that span, the Titans went 0-for-8 from the floor and committed five turnovers. Bowling Green outscored UDM, 43-23, over the final 20 minutes of play, while holding the Titans to 33.3 percent shooting from the field. Detroit Mercy was 0-for-6 from downtown in the second half.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE AT THE STROH CENTER
Following Bowling Green's 74-61 victory over Detroit Mercy (Dec. 10), the Falcons have now won four-consecutive games at the Stroh Center. BGSU is 4-2 at the facility this season, and along with the Detroit Mercy win, Bowling Green has knocked off Murray State (Nov. 21), Morgan State (Nov. 26) and Notre Dame College (Nov. 29). Over the four-game winning streak, the Orange and Brown have been winning games by an average of 18 points. The Falcons have scored an average points 82 points, while holding opponents to an average of 64 points. Opponents are shooting a combined 37.9 percent from the field in Bowling Green's last four games played at the Stroh Center.

THREE-POINT DEFENSE AND REBOUNDING
The calling card for the 2016-17 Falcons has certainly been defense. Teams win a lot of games by defending, and rebounding. Michael Huger and his team often talk about how good defense can lead to open shots in transition. BGSU has stuck to its identity, and when looking at national statistics, the Falcons rank highly in several rebounding categories. BGSU is ranked 73rd in the country in rebounds per game (39.2). Additionally, Bowling Green ranks 58th in the land in defensive rebounds per game (28.1). Furthermore, Bowling Green has done a great job at not allowing back-breaking three-pointers, as the Orange and Brown sit 68th in three-point defense. Teams are shooting just 31.0 percent from deep on BGSU this season.

MID-MAJOR MADNESS
For a mid-major program, Bowling Green has played one of the more difficult schedules in the country. Along with playing traditional mid-major powers in Oakland, Murray State, Evansville and Green Bay, the Falcons went on the road to play Cincinnati from the American Athletic Conference. BGSU's Division I opponents have combined for a 51-41 record as of the morning of Dec. 15. If Detroit Mercy, which is having a difficult down season under a first-year head coach, is excluded from that list, the record improves to 50-32. The Falcons have played an AP Top 25 team in Cincinnati, which is ranked No. 25 in the country, while also battling a total of eight teams that are ranked, or receiving votes, in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. Additionally, all four of Bowling Green's road games – at Oakland (9-1), South Dakota (8-4), Cincinnati (8-2), Evansville (6-4) – have come against schools that currently have winning records. San Jose State will also fall under that category, as the Spartans are 5-4 this season.

A DEEP TEAM IS A FRESH TEAM
Last season, a total of eight players saw at least 11.0 minutes per game. In 2016-17, 10 players on the roster are averaging at least 14.0 minutes per game. Michael Huger has commented on this fact, and believes that since he has a deeper team this season, he's been able to keep key players fresh for late-game minutes. BGSU's starting five – Zack Denny (29.9), Wes Alcegaire (26.7), Antwon Lillard (24.9), Ismail Ali (24.7) and Demajeo Wiggins (23.8) – are all playing at least 23.0 minutes per game, while everyone that has seen significant minutes off the bench – Dylan Frye (18.4), Matt Fox (18.0), Rodrick Caldwell (17.9), Rasheed Worrell (16.3) and Jeffrey Uju (14.0) – are playing at least 14.0 minutes.

FOUR FINAL-MINUTE LOSSES
Bowling Green's 4-6 record does not take into account the fact that the Falcons have been in nearly every ballgame in 2016-17. In BG's season-opening loss at Oakland (Nov. 11), the Falcons trailed by three with 6:08 to go, and five with 1:51 remaining. In the Falcons' next game at South Dakota (Nov. 13), the score was tied with 1:35 left in regulation. With the score even, UMKC (Nov. 19) beat BGSU with a jumper with 2.2 seconds left, and then in the Orange and Brown's loss at Evansville (Dec. 6), Antwon Lillard's game-tying three at the buzzer rimmed out. Although BGSU, more times than not, has come up on the short end in close games this year, the Falcons did beat Murray State on Nov. 21 on Zack Denny's game-winning triple with 53 seconds left.

DENNY CLOSE TO EARNING MEMBERSHIP INTO THREE-POINT FRATERNITY
Bowling Green's three-point fraternity will have a new member soon. Senior guard Zack Denny has made 117 three-point field goals in his career, and is just five triples shy of moving into a tie with Jordon Crawford (2009-13) for 10th most all-time. Denny, who has made at least one three-pointer in each of the last seven games, made 50 triples in 2014-15 and 52 bombs in 2015-16. If he were to make 50 more three-pointers this season, Denny would finish his career ranked sixth all-time in made three-point field goals. For his career, Denny is shooting 37.3 percent from downtown.

EIGHT-STRAIGHT DENNY DOUBLE-FIGURE GAMES
Germantown, Ohio native Zack Denny has scored in double figures in each of Bowling Green's last eight games. For his career, the senior has had 41 double-digit nights, and he's now 202 points shy of becoming the 44th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. Denny, who is averaging 12.2 points per game, which ranks second on the team, had seven points, seven rebounds and two assists at South Dakota (Nov. 13) in the one game this season that he didn't reach double figures. He is also leading the team in free throw shooting, as he is shooting a career-best 88.0 percent (22-of-25) from the charity stripe. One of the more complete players in the conference, Denny, who is widely thought of as BGSU's top perimeter defender, is averaging 5.8 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.

NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP FOR DEMAJEO
Demajeo Wiggins, who hails from Toledo, Ohio, is flourishing as a sophomore after a strong freshman season in 2015-16. The big man, who is averaging 9.1 points and 7.3 rebounds this season, has now recorded 10-plus points, or 10-plus rebounds, in five of the last seven games. Last year, Wiggins scored 4.6 points per game, and was pulling down 4.4 rebounds per contest. Wiggins has also experienced one of the biggest improvements at the free throw line in the history of college basketball this season. After shooting 37.9 percent (22-of-58) at the line last year, he's up to 71.2 percent (37-of-52) in 2016-17, and has already made 15 more free throws than he did all of last season, despite attempting six less shots. In the Falcons' last away game at Evansville on Dec. 6, he registered the first double-double of his career by scoring a career-high 18 points. He also tied his career high for rebounds with 12, and went 8-for-13 from the free throw line while logging a career-high 32 minutes.

TWON AVERAGING 10.7 AND 5.1 IN 12 CAREER STARTS
Sophomore guard Antwon Lillard has made 12 career starts. He's scored in double figures in six of those starts, and is averaging 10.7 points and 5.1 rebounds. This season, Lillard has had a number of huge games. He recorded the first double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) of his career against Notre Dame College (Nov. 29). And in consecutive days in games versus UMKC (Nov. 19) and Green Bay (Nov. 20), he scored 19 points and 15 points while shooting 7-for-12 and 7-for-9 from the field, respectively.

BACK-TO-BACK CAREER HIGHS FOR CALDWELL
Rodrick Caldwell is finding his grove ten games into his freshman season. The guard from Dayton, Ohio has posted career highs for points scored in each of BGSU's last two ballgames. In a three-point loss at Evansville (Dec. 6), Caldwell scored five crucial points in the final minute of the game on his way to a 10-point night. He went 2-for-4 from the field, and 2-for-3 from downtown. In the Falcons' most-recent win over Detroit Mercy (Dec. 10), the freshman registered 13 points and hit a career-high six free throws. Caldwell, who has made at least one triple in his last four games, is averaging 5.9 points, 2.0 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 2016-17.

DYLAN DROPS 18 ON DETROIT MERCY
Freshman Dylan Frye led BGSU in scoring in the team's victory over Detroit Mercy on Dec. 10. Frye scored a career-high 18 points, and also hit a career-best four triples. The Pembroke Pines, Florida native went 7-for-11 from the field, and 4-for-7 from downtown. Frye has been a prolific three-point shooter in 2016-17, and over BGSU's last six games, he has made 12-of-24 attempts from downtown. He has made at least one triple in five of Bowling Green's last six games, and is shooting 42.9 percent (12-for-28) from deep for the season. For the season, the freshman is averaging 6.7 points per game, and is shooting 46.2 percent from the field. After logging a career-high 29 minutes against Detroit Mercy, Frye is leading the bench in minutes at 18.4 per game.

ANOTHER ALCEGAIRE BIG SCORING NIGHT
Senior forward Wes Alcegaire is leading the Falcons in scoring this season, as he's averaging 12.6 points per game. The senior from Miami, Florida has now scored 16-plus points in three of the last four games. In back-to-back contests, Alcegaire dropped 20 points versus Notre Dame College (Nov. 29), and then scored 16 points at Cincinnati (Dec. 4). After a rare quiet game in Evansville (Dec. 6), he registered 16 points in BGSU's most-recent game versus Detroit Mercy (Dec. 10). Alcegaire also dished out a career-high four assists, while adding four steals and three rebounds. Along with his recent scoring outburst, Alcegaire had a 19-point game at Oakland (Nov. 11) to open the season, and has scored in double figures six times this season. One of BGSU's best three-point shooters, Alcegaire leads the team in three-point makes with 16.

WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY?
Junior Matt Fox, who was put on scholarship just hours before BGSU's win over Murray State (Nov. 21), has adapted well to his increased role this season. The guard, who often times this season has played the power forward position, does more than just shoot threes. However, three-point shooting has been Fox's calling card since arriving on campus, and he's been very effective this season from downtown. Fox has hit a three in each of BGSU's last six games. Over that six-game stretch, Fox is 10-for-16 (62.5 percent) from downtown. The Maumee, Ohio native has hit at least two triples in four games this season, while also having a 4-for-7 game from three-point land versus Morgan State (Nov. 26).

MALIK MAKES THE MOST OF PLAYING TIME
Malik Hluchoweckyj, a sophomore guard from Omaha, Nebraska, has appeared in three of Bowling Green's last five contests. After playing three minutes against Morgan State (Nov. 26), Hluchoweckyj scored his first three points of the season against Notre Dame College on Nov. 29. He converted on 1-of-2 free throws, and then scored a layup on a fast break off a nice dish from Rodrick Caldwell. After playing in eight games last season, the sophomore has already made four appearances, as he also got a run in BGSU's games at Oakland (Nov. 11) and Cincinnati (Dec. 4).

GOOD FOR GOOD
Freshman guard Ethan Good played the final three minutes of Bowling Green's win over Morgan State (Nov. 26), marking the first three minutes of his collegiate career. The walk-on from Wapakoneta, Ohio registered his first-career assist, and then scored his first-career point by converting on 1-of-2 free throw attempts. Good, who also played two minutes and launched a pair of three-point bombs in BG's most-recent game versus Notre Dame College (Nov. 29), also made an appearance in Bowling Green's game at Cincinnati (Dec. 4).

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.

FALCONS REGISTER WIN NO. 50 AT THE STROH CENTER
Bowling Green's 90-58 win over Morgan State (Nov. 26) marked the program's 50th victory at the Stroh Center. The Falcons now own an overall record of 52-33 at the Stroh Center, which opened for the 2011-12 season. The Orange and Brown have won 11-plus games in three seasons at the Stroh, as BGSU went 12-4 in the facility's inaugural season, prior to finishing 11-5 in 2012-13, and 11-6 in 2014-15.

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.

#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 included 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.

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Wes Alcegaire

Ismail Ali

Rodrick Caldwell

Zack Denny

Matt Fox

Dylan Frye

Ethan Good

Malik Hluchoweckyj

Antwon Lillard

Jeffrey Uju

Demajeo Wiggins

Rasheed Worrell

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