Black-Clad Falcons Surprise Titans

That, my friends, was a nice win.  The Falcons took on a very good Detroit team at the Stroh and played a very tight competitive game with them for 24 minutes or so and in the end BG was able to gut out the win over a good team.  It was the first D1 win over the year and over a very talented team.  Yes, it was at home, but still a nice win.

It featured everything I think that Falcons will need to win.

• BG defended the shot, holding the Titans to 38% from the field and 18% from beyond the arc.
• BG made some shots, shooting 46% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc.
• BG got to the line 22 times and made 77% of its free throws.
• BG took excellent care of the ball with 10 turnovers.
• While BG had only one double figured scorer, that was Crawford who had 26 points, 9 of 16 shooting and 5 of 10 on 3s, outscoring McCallum by 1 point.
• However, BG got contributions from a bunch of guys:
• Calhoun had 9 points and 5 rebounds. (The important point here is that Detroit really limited Calhoun's shots and the Falcons still scored).
• Orr led the team with 7 rebounds and added 8 points on 6-6 from the line.
• Cam Black had 4 points, 3 rebounds and 3 blocks.
• Clarke had 7 points and 3 assists in 18 minutes.
• Holmes had 5 points, 5 boards and 2 blocks in 12 minutes.
• Anthony Henderson had 6 points in 7 minutes.
• James Erger even stroked a 3.

NCAA Basketball Stats

As you can see, the other area BG lacked on was on rebounding.  The Falcons rode that big shooting advantage and combined it with breaking even on turnovers and free throws, and that's how the win came together.

BG scored 1.13 points per possession and held the Titans to 1.05, which is not a great number overall.  The Titans did take care of the ball well and that helps and they were good from the line as well.

The flow of the game was very interesting.  With 4 minutes left in the first half, BG was up by 14 points.  The Titans switched to a 2-3 zone and BG completely fell apart and Detroit had an 11-1 run coming home to head to the locker room only down 4, which had to have them feeling pretty good.

About 7 minutes into the second half Detroit led and the game was tied just inside the 10 minute mark.  From there, however, BG lead the entire way.  I think a game like this is a great early season test.  Almost all of those last 10 minutes took place with a score no more than 2 possessions apart. That kind of extended, tense play is a good opportunity to see what you have, and BG was able to hold the line the entire way.

With 1:39 left, BG led by 2.  Cam Black missed a shot and Calhoun was fouled on the stick back.  He split the pair and BG led by 3.  The game was really down to one stop and the Falcons got it on a missed 3 from Minnerath.  Crawford secured the board, was fouled, and hit both free throws and BG was up 5 with :48 left.  It was never a one possession game, so it did come down that stop.

College Basketball Stats

And so BG picks up its first D1 win.  You can almost feel like something started to come together in the Huntsville game.  BG has a run of 4 more home games---Youngstown, Wright State, Samford and Sparty.  A team that plays anything like this one did--and there is room for improvement--and we could be in for a surprising season.  You can't read too much into 1 (or 2) games.  On the other hand, the team is clearly playing much better than it did even against Central State or Cleveland State.  Maybe some things just had to gel.