Sweet Victory

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I'll tell you what...you can watch a lot of sports and there isn't much better than that.  It's just crazy how good something like last night can make you feel.  Coach talked about it in the post-game...even said he was a little tired of being asked about beating Toledo.  It's part of the deal...you coach at BG, your fan base, the one that's here year after year, coach after coach, wants to beat Toledo.  Good on ya, Coach...as David Briggs said today, enjoy the silence.

It was a great night.  You can't ask for more.  Savage Arena was jammed to the rafters.  The place was rocking.  And it was a great game....well played on both ends, big plays on both ends, very few turnovers, made shots, a closely-fought contest...it was a great night to be a college basketball fan.  And a great night to be a Falcon fan.

So sweet to walk out of that place with a win.  So, so sweet.  The last time had been nine years to the day, and that was against a 4-28 Rocket team still swimming out from the Gene Cross mess.  This was a win that makes a statement.  We were looking for a win that showed a championship team and we got it at Savage Hall last night.

That's six straight and a tie for first place with Akron.  Long way to go...but we've seen the level of play that we haven't seen since the UC game.

BG broke out to a quick 6-point lead and then UT brought it back.  From there it was a one-possession game for quite a while.  BG went up 6 again with 3:45 left but then the Rockets rallied and had a one-point lead with :50 left.

And then one of those happened that happens in college basketball.  BG had Davin Ziegler in the game.  He had not played in any of the MAC games to date.  In the last :50, he drove into the paint and hit a jumper and then after a stop he hit a contested 3FG buzzer beat to end the half with BG having a 4-point lead.  I just think it's a big difference compared to sending UT into the locker room with the lead after trailing most of the half.

Coach says he works before practice with Zeigler and Turner to help them develop their skills when they aren't playing.  He said they work on that exact play...just crazy how things work out.

UT did not lead in the second half.  It was only tied once.  BG was in the lead the rest of the time.

With 11 minutes left, BG led by 8.  With 9 minutes left, BG was up 4...the game wasn't closer than that until there was :14 left.  That's hard to believe if you were in the arena--because you aren't going to relax until there are zeros on the clock.  But BG was in control of the game for most of the second half.

BG mixed in some 8-point leads and got it to 10 with 6:21 left.  With 2:42 left, BG's lead was cut to 6 and BG had the ball.  The teams traded stops and then with 1:42 left, Justin Turner hit a crowd-shooshing dagger 3FG to put the Falcons up by 9 points.  BG got another stop and then Turner was fouled and he split two FTs to go up 10 with 1:19 left.

Do I feel good?  I do not.  I am dying...you don't want to lose it now.

BG had a poor sequence, fouling UT (made 2 FTs, lead to 8) and then committed a turnover (the one thing you can't do) and Willie Jackson was fouled and, fortunately for BG, again split the pair.  Still the lead was 7 with 1:00 left.

UT fouled Dylan and he missed the front end of the 1-1.  UT was down the court and Marreon Jackson was lining himself up for a short jumper and Caleb Fields blocked the shot from behind, a play I suspect fans have forgotten about this morning, but it was a huge play.  Turner was fouled and missed both shots (ugh!) and Knapke hit a jumper to get it back to 5 with :32 to play.

UT fouled Caleb Fields and things stabilized on the line.  Fields hit them both to go up 7.  Marreon hit a 3FG to make it 4 with :23 left.  They fouled Fields and he drained them both again to make it 5.    With :14 left, Marreon hit another 3 to make it a 3-point lead.  One possession.

Dying.

They fouled Fields again and with :13 left he hit two more.  That's six straight in the final minute on the road in front of a howling crowd.  And a blocked shot.  If that's something you might be interested in.

I say that because Jackson was lining up for a 3FG and Fields fouled him on the close out and Jackson had 3 FTs with :08 left.  He missed the first two, made only the last, BG cleared the boards and Frye hit 2 FTs to make it 85-79 for the final.

Sweet, sweet victory.  How's that taste, Rocky?

In the preview, I emphasized that BG needed to start making shots to win games like this.  And they did...because this wasn't a defensive struggle and BG made the shots it needed to.  The game was played at 70 possessions, which is relatively normal. BG had 1.22 points per possession, their 2nd best game of the year on offense, beaten only by the OU game.  (Both on the road).

BG allowed 1.13 points per possession, their second worst game of the season...the only worst one was OU.

The difference was UT is one of the better offensive teams in the MAC.  They are going to get their points.  OU is 7th.

Anyway, BG did make shots.  They were 45% from 2FG and 52% from 3FG, whereas UT was 46% from 2FG and 36% from 3FG.  Both teams took great care of the ball.  BG had an average night on the offensive boards and UT rarely crashed them at all, preferring to get back and control the transition game.  BG shot more FTs and did pretty well, making 18 of 26 but UT made 19 of 23, with two of the four misses coming with :08 left.

Individually, before we look at the BG guys, let's look at Marreon Jackson.  Coach called him a "beast" after the game.  This kid is a player.  He scored 27 on 7 of 18 and 4 of 11 shooting with 5 rebounds and 6 assists.  Hit two clutch 3FGs and those two FTs he missed at the end were the only ones he missed all day.  He's guy you want on your side.

For BG, Dylan Frye led the way with 22 points.  He's been in a shooting slump, but he knows he has to keep shooting.  He was 6 of 14 overall, 3 of 5 from 3FG, 7 of 10 at the line and 6 assists over 1 turnover.  If you might be interested in that.

Justin Turner came alive after a slow start.  He had 20 on 7 of 15 shooting and 1 of 2 from 3FG...that one being the silencer.  Daeqwon Plowden--the best player in the MAC most people have never heard of--double-doubled at 12 points and 13 rebounds, shooting 5 of 8 overall and 2 of 4 from 3FG.  Caleb Fields had 11 points and the clutch 6 FTs in the last minute.

One bench player with a significant contribution was Matiss Kulakovsis.  BG was having trouble with Knapke.  He was able to score on Mattos and go right over Sierra.  Matiss came in and played the post and kept Knapke contained, making shots difficult for him and playing a huge role in holding the BG lead.

Laster had 3 assists in 14 minutes.  And Ziegler, 5 points in 3 minutes.

That's the tale.  Sweet victory indeed.  Next up is Ball State at home.  Need to keep the focus on and protect home court.