Nice Effort by the Falcons

Even though they lost, and Ryan's story indicates in The Blade that the team no longer views close losses as a moral victory, last night's game was a further indication that our team is on the right track.

In the end, two things killed us...first, even though we only made 15 fouls, Ohio State shot 21 free throws, meaning (I can only conclude) that more of our fouls were shooting fouls than normal. Anyway, they out FT'd us by 8.

And, Dallas Lauderdale was a real force inside. He blocked six, but altered maybe twice as many. BG was not as effective on the inside as we need to be, and since we don't (and didn't) shoot the 3 well, we need a decent percentage on the inside and couldn't get it.

Still, inside of one minute the game was within one score when we had the ball. And, like Minnesota, we had been behind by double digits and got back in the game. Again, I'm seeing a lot of positives...

Specifically:

Joe Jakubowski: is going to be a really good MAC PG. OSU pressured us...can you remember the painful days watching our previous point guards try to work against pressure. It hurt just to watch. But, Joe handled things really well, calmly getting the ball up floor almost everytime. He had six assists and 3 TOs.

Daryl Clements: As a senior, he has developed into a very solid player. 13 points, 9 rebounds and our best on the ball defender.

Brian Moten: Quiet for much of the game, he got hot when we needed it, and developed some long ball action. Shows nice touch inside the arc, too. Another senior who has really developed into a quality MAC player.

Otis Polk: This might have been the best game I have seen Otis play. First, he put in 30 minutes. He only had 7 points and six boards, but he showed some touch around the basket on two tip ins and I thought contributed on the inside. Made a really nice touch pass on an interior play, too. Consistent minutes from Otis would make this team five points better right off the bat.

Nate Miller: Not his best game scoring wise, but Nate showed an ability to get penetration and make things happen. He's a quality player and even better when he doesn't have to shoulder the whole load himself.

Team notes:

We held OSU to only 40% shooting.
We made only 14 turnovers.
We outrebounded them by a lot.

All in all, a nice effort. A week off now, and a trip to Georgia for a very winnable game for the Falcons. Can't wait to start the MAC season.

One last note: Chris Knight played only 5 minutes.