FalconBlog--Triumphs and Trials in the BGSU Falcon Nation

Falcons Beat Wright State

From what I heard and hear, it wasn't a pretty win--but, it was a win, and I'm thrilled to have it. On the road, for the second time this year, we were playing a team that beat the snot out of us last year on our floor, leading 28-4 at one point. My previous comments stand--this is one I thought would be tough. Instead, our guys really rallied and got the win, to be 5-3 on the year.

Let's look at how it happened.

The narrative is that BG led by 11 in the first half, but then went on a 24-4 (sound familiar?) to take a 9 point lead in the second half. Our guys could have folded there, and, in fact, would have folded there last year. We tied the game with 3:38 left, but the key sequences came when Ryne Hamblett hit a three that bounced on the rim like a jumping bean before falling in (he seems to have a proclivity for that). That gave us a 2 point lead.

With :34 left Dusan fouled and Wright hit a FT to cut it to 1. The Raiders looked to foul little-used Darryl Clements, and did. He drained two free throws (BG +3). Wright hit a jumper to bring it back to +1, and then they fouled Clements again. And he made the FTs again, and then Wright State missed their last shot, and we had the game.

Oh, and Coach Dakich revealed in the Blade that Clements got a 4-point this semester. That's impressive.

"We got his grades back, and they were spectacular," Dakich said. "I went into the locker room and said 4.0 students make big shots."

Some bullet points on the win:

• The key stat in the game was Wright State's shooting--they shot only 34.5% from the field, and made only one trey in 12 attempts. Hard to tell how much influence BG had on that, but that's the key element in the game.
• Lefeld struggled for much of the game, but hit some clutch baskets down the stretch.
• It also appeared that Samarco and Hamblett combined for some nice passing down the stretch.
• Martin had 22, and struggled to shoot for much of the game, ending up 9-20. His stroke did seem to come back late. He only had 2 treys. (He also had 8 boards)
• Dusan continued to break out, with a career high 12 points. He was 4-5 from the field--all behind the arc. (For a nice MoFul profile of Dusan click here.)
  
• The team committed 23 fouls which is still a lot, and we played the second half with Lefeld and Samarco with four fouls.
• We also turned the ball over 17 times--but six in the second half.
• Lionel Simmons did not make the trip and was reported to be in the Union. With the end of the semester, this is a worry...
  

We're really not in a bad position. At 5-3 with a weak Northern Colorado team coming to AA next Tuesday, and a trip to Marshall, I think we should be, worst case, 6-4 hitting the holidays. Then, we have kind of a soft tourney in Green Bay--we could have nine wins (last year's total) before we hit the MAC season. Or at least 8.

More than that, I really feel like we have a team--one that has the potential to bring the team back. We will see what actually happens, but for the fan, there is at least something to watch.