BG gets first MAC win in OT

It was home sweet home for the Falcons, as they won a competitive and entertaining game at the Stroh yesterday, beating Miami in overtime.  BG has OU and UT next week--possibly the top 2 teams in the MAC right now--and it's great to have a W heading into that week.

BG started well, taking a 14-5 lead but MU rallied and tied the game at 19.  The game was very competitive for the next 5 minutes.  BG took a 26-24 lead with 5:39 left.  Unfortunately, BG did not score again in the half and Miami scored 11 to lead at the half by 9.

MU extended and held the lead for the first 7 minutes of the second half. BG was down 9 with 13:30 left when Joe Reece hit an and-one to cut the lead to 6.  BG got a couple stops and BG had the lead with 8:30 left to go.  There were a couple lead changes and then with about 3:00 left Chandler Turner nailed a 3 to put BG up 5.

The two teams traded 3FGs on their next possessions, so BG still led by 5 with 2:26 left.  You'd like to think you are in good shape, but Miami had the game tied with 1:48 left--a basket and a 3FG paired with a BG turnover.

BG got a steal with 1:11 left and Turner split his FTs.  Brown split a couple on the other end and it was tied with :59 left.  BG had the ball but failed to score.  MU called timeout with :32 left.  They came out and BG played a really good half-court defensive possession, eventually forcing a turnover as Miami recklessly tried to create something.  BG called time and ended up with a Plowden jumper that fell short and was very close to being a foul on the shot...maybe he got a piece of the ball.

BG had the better of the overtime.  They led by 4 with 2:26 left to play.  What followed was a very frustrating period...BG got 3 straight stops and really just needed to convert on the offensive end once to put it away, but BG did not score at all, so it was still 4 with :25 left when Ayah hit a layup and cut the lead to 2.  BG got the ball inbound and Gordon was fouled.  

We don't know much about Gordon, but he was a 85% FT shooter at Samford.  He hit both FTs. and the lead was 4 with :20 to play.  Ayah got another layup to get it back to 2 with :09 left.  They fouled Mills and he also made both FTs to make it a 4 point lead and BG had finally put it away.

Again, very entertaining, exciting game and great to get the W.

The game was played at 73 possessions, but it was an overtime game.  The pace was more Miami's than BG's.  What jumps out first is that Miami shot 57% of their FGAs from 3.  This is a huge amount.  No MAC opponent has tried that rate against us since Akron in 2016.  The RedHawks haven't shot that many since 2020.  They came into the game shooting the ball very well from 3FG but made only 34% which is just above average.  They made 49% on 2FGs, which is average.

The game followed a common BG pattern, where the Falcons win while being outshot.  There were a couple keys.  First, BG won the turnover battle against a team that came in #8 in the nation at not turning the ball over.  Those extra possessions mitigate the shooting.  And, BG kept MU off the line.  The RedHawks shoot the FT really well, and tried only 9, making 6, which BG was 18 of 23 including 6-6 in the overtime.

Overall, BG had 1.07 points per possession, which is a good day and held the high-scoring RedHawks to 1.02.   It was their worst offensive game in their last 5 games.

BG only tried 26% of its FGAs from 3FG, second-lowest of the year (Duquesne).  BG made 37% from 3FG which is decent and 45% from 2FG, which is below average nationally but in the range we normally end up with.

BG had 2 double-doubles, though the game was in overtime.  Plowden had a career-high 27 points and 10 rebounds.  He was reasonably efficient at 6 of 14 from 2FG and 4 of 6 from 3FG.  He made all 3 of his FGs, had 2 steals and 3 turnovers.

Joe Reece had 20 on 8 of 15 shooting and 10 rebounds.  He was a great find in the portal.

Chandler Turner was the other double-figure scorer, with 11 points...2 of 5 on 2FG and 2 of 3 on 3FG, plus 8 rebounds in 25 minutes.  He is contributing to this team every time he is on the floor.

Metheny had 5 assists in 18 minutes.  Myron Gordon has an interesting night....missed all his shots, but was 7 of 8 from the line and had 5 assists over 3 turnovers.  He was clutch down the stretch.

A couple notes on player usage.  Metheny was injured and missed the last 13 minutes of the game.  Based on prior usage I would have expected Curtis to be on the point for the time after that, but Huger went with Gordon.  Curtis did not play for the last 16 minutes of the game.  Both Metheny and Curtis were on the floor for the scoreless period at the end of the first half....so that might be it.  Anyway, it seemed odd to me.

And Fulcher played 7 minutes.

Anyway, BG picks up a nice win over Miami.  One they needed and they got it done.  Tuesday is OU, without doubt the team playing the best right now.  Then UT on Saturday.,..COVID willing.