Falcons Lose MAC Opener

Good morning?

What's good about it?

OK.  I kid.  Lots.

One of them is not the opening game of the Falcon Men's Basketball season, a game with wild swings that bordered somewhat on the farcical and yet ended up with a very, very ordinary story and that was a Falcon team unable to outplay the opposition in the closing minutes of a game.

There was a period of time--about half the game--where BG played about as ineffectively as they have played in recent memory.  Remembering we're not playing against MSU....the game was tied 8-8 after 7 minutes.  Then, CMU scored the next 13 points (in about 3 minutes of play) to jump to a 13 point lead, a lead they extended by 4 more points to lead by 17 at the half, 37-20.  That's poor offense and poor defense.

The second half didn't start out much better.  CMU made 3 treys in the first 2 minutes of the second half to get the lead to 22 and it eventually got to 23.

Then, like a cartoon, the whole thing switched and the hunted became the hunter.  It was 49-26 with 17:39 left and then BG went on a 26-4 run over the next 9 minutes or so to cut the deficit to 1 point and make it a game again.  A bunch of it was at the line, but worth noting that while Jordon Crawford scored 10 points in the run, Henderson added 6 (on 2 treys).

The problem is that when you come all the way back in a game like that, you sometimes expend everything you have on getting even--that's all you have in your head--and you can't close the deal.  At home, I think it is a little different because you would have your crowd going crazy, but on the road I think it is more common.

CMU held off the BG run and pushed the lead back up to 5 and it stayed there more or less for 5 minutes.  I do give BG credit for this...they have played ineffectively quite a bit this year, but they are not quitters.  BG continued to battle.  They picked up a steal and a 2 FTS (Henderson again) and then they got another steal and Crawford converted on the run out and the game was tied with 3:25 left.

CMU only had a 2-point lead inside 2 minutes, but BG just doesn't generate any offense at all in these situations.  Crawford missed a shot and had a turnover on the next possession and then CMU converted a follow up dunk to go up 4 with about 1 minute left.  CMU made 9 of their 12 free throws coming home and BG never had the ball with the game within one possession and that's how the game of ebbs and flows eventually ebbed.

College Basketball

If you want to look on the bright side, Anthony Henderson got the start and played 32 minutes for BG.  I think it has been clear for a while that the only chance this team has to generate additional points is with him, and he needs to get minutes.  He delivered...13 points, but on 4-7 shooting and 3 of 6 from beyond the arc.  (Offensive rating of 155, very efficient night).

Luke Kraus played 9 minutes.

Richaun Holmes had 22 minutes and Black 18.  Holmes was also very, very good.  He had 7 points on 3 of 5 shooting to go with 9 rebounds and 5 freaking blocked shots.  That's in 22 minutes.  I said it before, this guy needs to play major minutes.

Jordon Crawford had a career high 29 points on 11 of 20 shooting, coming off a terrible game at Temple.  He was cold when the team was cold and hot when they were hot, and I think it is clear that he is the key to the team.  He had 4 assists and 4 turnovers as well.

A'uston Calhoun had 9 points on 3 of 10 shooting, but it is worth noting that he is contributing.  He added what has to be a career-high 14 rebounds.

So, if you want some high points, I think if BG can get Holmes and Henderson more involved I think they have a shot to be better coming home.

On a team perspective, CMU had a +13 advantage on the line, much of which was in the last minute but then again, that's when the game was won, too.  The other stats are pretty unremarkable.  Neither team had a big issue with turnovers and BG was average on the offensive boards and CMU was poor, which was to be expected.

BG shot FTs very well, BTW, at 11-12 but CMU was also very good at 24-29.

For the game, BG scored 1.03 points per possession, which is good for us.  The 1.12 that CMU scored is just not going to work.  The last time BG won a game with a number like that was against Buffalo in the 08-09 season.The game was played at 65 possessions, which is right about where the two teams have played this year.

College Basketball Stats

So, BG is 5-9, 3-9 in D1 and 0-1 in the MAC.  That's 5 straight losses and 3 of the next five are on the road.

Here's the frustrating thing.  CMU was 11-21 last year, bad enough to fire their Coach.  Their two best players left and yet they bring in a new Coach and they are beating us.  EMU did the same thing last year as did Toledo and it just seems like teams pass us all the time and we never get any better.

I'll leave you with one last question.  What's the future of PG look like next year?

Anyway, that was the result last night.  EMU actually comes to the Stroh on Saturday and BG badly, badly, badly needs a home win.  I think the only attainable goal for this team is a home berth in the tournament and you're going to need that game on Saturday to open it up.