2,589th Day is the Charm

The Falcons broke the long schneid against the Broncos in Anderson Arena with a solid 7 point win in a game where they held the lead for 36 straight minutes.

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There are two real stories to the game on an individual level, and one on a team level.

First, Nate Miller just had a great night, 21 points and 13 rebounds. He shot FTs well, provided ball handling stability, and, as always, finished around the basket. As his senior year reaches its close, Nate Miller is proving to be a highly productive basketball player who is capable of doing a lot for this team.

Second, you have Otis Polk. Otis may finally be coming into his own, and if he does, he changes this team all by himself. Against WMU he had 16 points and nine rebounds and five blocked shots against only two fouls. There is more to the story than that, because I observed him defending the rim--without fouling--on many possessions. He is handling the ball way more on the offensive end, and that is opening up lots of things. Simply put, if Otis produces like he did tonight, the entire complexion of the team improves instantly.

On a team level, the key thing is that Bowling Green shot only 38% from the field and won the game. They did this by holding WMU to the same %, by getting to the line and converting, by only turning the ball over 9 times and by winning the rebound battle by a total of 9.

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WMU did get the margin to four with less than two minutes left to go, and momentarily had BG chasing its tail against full court pressure, but coach got a timeout and adjustments were made and the situation stabilized. Otis' game-sealing tomahawk dunk on the baseline should be on a highlight reel.

One last individual note. David Kool had only 14 points, and that is much to the credit of the Falcon did, which did a great job against him. I noticed that he especially struggled to score against Clements, although Moten guarded him with energy, too.

So, that's four wins in a row. In the games last night and tonight, the MAC West failed to win even one contest, so relative to our divsion, we are staying even. But, the wins are great to have, and as the team matures, they always have Cleveland to look forward to.