For as disappointing as the defeat to EMU was Sunday, tonight's win over Buffalo is just as rewarding. Buffalo is a good team--the best in the MAC to date--and we have played really poorly out there, losing by more than 20 points per game over the past few years.
But tonight, the Falcons picked up a huge road win. This is, by far, our biggest win of the season to date, and something that I hope can provide some confidence coming home.
It may have come with a price--Chris Knight was injured very early and did not return. We'll obviously monitor his condition (OK, reports of his condition), but Scott Thomas took the minutes and seemed to do pretty well.
On the surface, this game looks quite a bit like the game at Anderson Arena. Bowling Green simply shot the lights out again, hitting 54% from the field. The Falcons held a decent lead throughout, but unlike the game at Anderson, this time we didn't let Buffalo back into the game.
It was back to being a typical Falcon defensive performance. The Bulls shot only 34% from the field, and made 16 turnovers, well above their season average. And while Buffalo did rebound as well as they normally do, BG was able to win because they converted FG opportunities and kept Buffalo from making their shots.
As you can see, BG scored 59 points, and Brian Moten had 22 points. While Moten, like many shooters, can frustrate the beejezus out of you with his cool streaks, when he is on he is sweet. Tonight, he hit 6-9 from beyond the arc and was 8 of 15 overall. No one else was in double figures, but pretty much everyone contributed here and there with some good shooting. Finally, we committed only 11 fouls in the game.
I'm very pleased with this win. Buffalo now leads the East with a 9-3 record, but there are four teams, including BG, at 8-4. This has all the makings of a great homestretch in the MAC, to be interrupted next only by the bracket buster.
One last thing. That is our 15th win, and with one more we will be guaranteed a winning season, which, given where this team was two years ago, is something.
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