Falcons Beat Rival for 3rd Straight Season

The Falcons went on the road and picked up the win last night in Savage Hall, beating the Rockets 70-64 in from of the largest crowd the Rockets have had in a couple of seasons, though small at that.

In general, it was a pretty ugly game, especially in the first half.  Having said that, sometimes in a long season, you have to go and get it done in ugly fashion, and that's what BG did.  The Falcons did what they have done during the year when they are successful, which is absorb a second half run and then turn it back and win the game.

Last night that came after UT ripped off an 11-5 run to start the second half, and tied the game with about 15 left.  BG responded with a modest 9-3 run over the next couple of minutes, including 5 points by Dee Brown.  With about 7 left the Rockets had it back to 2 points, but BG responded with the next 4 points, (including a Dee Brown basket), and then with 5 minutes left A'uston Calhoun converted an old-school three-point play and the game was never a one possession game again, as the Falcons closed the game out.

NCAA Basketball

BG certainly struggled offensively, especially in the first half.  UT played a very active defense, and switched between man-man and 2-3 zone, and I thought the Falcons particularly had trouble creating opportunities against the zone.  It was kind of interesting, BG often throws teams off with a zone, and BG had trouble with the zone and seemed really uncomfortable.

The Falcons finished the first half shooting 31% and 4-12 from 3.  In the second half, BG shot 58% and 2 of 5 from 3.  As Coach Orr said to the team, we don't make our living on 3FGs, and when we succeed, it is because we get a high shooting percentage by scoring around the basket.

Both teams finished over 1 point per possession for the game, and BG was at 1.11, which is pretty good.  The stats line is pretty typical of a close game.  Although the shooting was pretty even, BG took care of the ball better, rebounded better and had a slight edge in free throws, and that adds up to what you need to win a close game.  BG's 69% free throw shooting was key, and we converted in the last minutes to close the game down.

NCAA Basketball

Just an unquantified note...man do we seem to miss a bunch of "zero footers" on put backs. Maybe that's jut an impression, but if anything kept this game close, that was it.

The clear star of the game for BG was A'uston Calhoun.  He had his first double-double, with 21 points and 13 rebounds.  More importantly, I thought I saw a toughness in him that he hasn't always shown.  He got shots up often against very physical triple teams, and he rebounded aggressively in traffic a number of times.  He also made some nice passes in tight quarters once he had drawn coverage.  I do think he is continuing to get better every game, and he's going to be a good player, and it is hard to imagine us winning that game last night without him.

There was one other notable achievement.  The Falcons have been relying on Jordan Crawford to come in late in the first half and get things moving, but last night he just didn't click.  He may have been struggling with the zone, and he is still a  young player.  The great thing was that Joe Jakubowski and Dee Brown both delivered for the team, especially in situations where it was really needed.

I think it says something.  Both players have seen their role diminish in the last couple weeks.  But, when the team needed them, they both played hard and effectively.  Jakubowski had 16 points against 4 assists, 2 steals and only one turnover.  That included 4 3s and 4-4 at the line.  Dee Brown had 11 points and 2 assists and, as noted above, key baskets in the Falcons second half runs.  I think this is a testament to the commitment of both guys that they delivered in this way.

Finally, a note on the Rockets.  They are just very undermanned.  Malcolm Griffin is a good player and is hot, but he is more or less alone out there.  They are just short on good players.  I know they have some transfer guys coming in next year, and Cross left the program in the gutter.  Having said that, they competed incredibly hard, despite their hopeless record, and that is a credit to their heart.

Another note...there is some dark stuff going on inside Tod Kowalczyk.  The look in his eyes on the sidelines is like something out of a horror movie.  He's not cartoon-funny like John Groce.  He's scary.  And the bow tie only added an additional bizarre element.