Falcons Come Through With Huge Win at AA

Ah, that's more like it. The Falcons moved tonight into a three-way tie for first place in the Mid-American Conference with a one point thriller at Anderson Arena. It was one of those games that was close and tense the entire way.

In many ways, I thought (and hope) it reflects the maturation of our team. The first time we played Kent, they hit a second half run and we fell apart. This time, we went into the 8:00 time out without having scored in about 5 minutes. Kent had erased an 11-0 lead and had a five point lead, and you could sort of feel a run coming to put the game away.

But it didn't. We came out and Otis got a dunk (perhaps the biggest hoop of the game), and two free throws, and with 4:21 we were back in the lead.

We ratcheted up the D (from 8:00 in Kent scored only 10 points). BG took the lead with :47 left on an Otis Polk layup, took a 2-point lead when EriK Marschall split a pair of free throws, and then BG fouled Chris Singleton with about :02 left. He went to the line to shoot 1-1, and, in what could be the most dramatic moment in AA this year, hit the first one and missed the second. The rebound rolled out of bounds off BG, but Kent didn't have timeouts left and couldn't set a play up and that's where the game ended.

Not to be lost in the sauce is that Nate Miller made two steals in the last :30 of the game. He is leading the MAC in steals, and forced two turnovers down the stretch--when we needed stops, Kent didn't even get shots.

See below.

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When I previewed the game yesterday, I said that it would be a nice night for us to get some shots to fall. And that's exactly what happened. In fact, the Falcons shot 51% for the game and 40% from the three point line, and that was enough for us to be able to win the game. In fact, Kent shot about as well as they did in the first game, but we were just able to out score them tonight.

The other difference is that the Falcons committed 11 fouls FOR THE GAME (in the DD days, it seemed like we had that many 10 minutes into the game), and Kent committed 16, and BG had a +10 margin in free throws.

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A couple weeks ago, I said that when Otis Polk produces, this is a different team. He had three good games, and seemed jinxed, as he struggled to score for the next three games. Tonight, he had 10 points, 8 boards, 2 assists, some strong defensive play and one key loose ball on the hardwood of Anderson Arena. I'll say it again. When Otis produces on the inside, this is a different team.

In fact, all of the Falcon starters ended up in double figures. Nate Miller was 16/8, and Moten had 14/5. The Falcons, playing without Chris Knight for the (more or less) third game, used all five starters for 30 minutes, a major change since the beginning of the season. And it only works if you get Otis contributing the minutes he did tonight.

We also had 14 turnovers, but only 4 in the second half.

So, a thrilling win for the home team tonight, and now a tie for first place. It doesn't get easier, but Sunday's game at the JAR looks to be a huge one and a great test for our team. Everytime this team has needed to bounce back with a big win in MAC play, they have done it, and I think Falcon fans can be proud of the progress that is being made, and excited for what could happen in the coming two weeks. Who knows?

Finally, at 15-11, the Falcons can finish no worse than 15-15. One more win, and a .500 season will have been achieved.