So, yeah, while everyone was still reliving the thrilling Camellia Bowl victory last night, the Falcon men's basketball team took to the floor to play Ferris State, a DII team on an 8-game winning streak. I didn't see the game, but based on Coach Jans' comments after the game, BG was apparently already on break. They played what Coach said was our worst defensive game of the year, gave up 82 to Ferris and lost by 14 on home floor.
Jans: "We took a step back."
So far as I can see, BG's last non-D1 loss was to Findlay to kick off the 91-92 season.
It would appear to be one of those days...a Ferris team that is playing well with 2 really good players meets up against a team that Coach Jans concedes he was unable to get to play with the needed intensity--so opportunity kicks in an open door.
The interesting thing is that it was never really a game. BG was down 1 at half but Jans says "it felt like more." Then, with BG "not putting up much resistance," (Jans), Ferris shot 58% from the field, 50% from beyond the arc and 11 of 13 FTs to put 45 on the board for the half. Meanwhile, BG shot 39% and 33% and scored only 32 (not too bad, on its own). The Bulldogs led by 20 inside of 2 minutes.
Ferris was led by Drew Lehman, a Toledo Central Catholic product. Lehman had 29 points on 10 of 17 shooting. They also had Josh Fleming who scored 23 points and added 13 rebounds. I don't remember the last time BG had two players go 20+ against them, but it is far from common.
Richaun Holmes had a big game for BG, scoring 26 on 9 of 14 shooting and adding 9 rebounds. Clarke had an efficient 13 and Denny had 10 that took a lot of work to chase down.
It is humbling for the Falcons, who have met or exceeded expectations for most of the year. This--a 14 point defeat at home to a non-D1 team--certainly qualifies. They'll get plenty of time to think about it....they play again Sunday @South Florida. Adversity strikes any season. It will be interesting to see how BG responds to this.
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