BG Men Gut Out Win Over NIU

The win last night was the kind of win you have to be able to get in MAC play.  It always amazes me how hard teams play--even teams that are struggling.  NIU really battled BG last night and BG was not playing well...but eventually put the run together they needed and won the game, 56-46.  Sometime that's what you need, just one more run.

In fact, heading into the 8-minute media, NIU was ahead 39-37.  Coming out of the timeout, Delvin Dickerson launched a 3 that hit the back of the rim, bounced six feet up in the air and straight down into the basket.  Better to be lucky than good...anyway, that set off a 16-2 run by the Falcons that included Delvin Dickerson with 6 (both on treys) and Holmes with 6 and of course a bunch of stops.  By the time that was all over, BG led by 12 with 2 minutes left and the game was over. That's basically a well-timed six minute stretch that won the game for BG.

NCAA Basketball

I had noted in the preview that NIU struggled to shoot but was the top team in the MAC at offensive rebounding and getting to the free throw line.  BG held NIU to 36%/17% shooting while holding them well below their normal offensive rebounding effectiveness and to only 14 free throws.  In fact, BG never put NIU in the bonus in the 2nd half.  

Meanwhile, BG shot 43% and 39%, both above their average.  It was a 57 possession game, which is really slow and reflects the grind the game was.  With that in mind, 12 turnovers for BG was actually a disappointing number,  BG also had a poor FT shooting game at 54%.

College Basketball Stats

Individually, Richaun Holmes had 18 points with 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. He got their shooting 8 of 14 and had 6 of his 18 in the decisive run.  Zack Denny has been in a shooting slump, but he broke out with 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting, 3 of 4 from 3FG, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.  Anthony Henderson scored 11 points on 3 of 6 shooting and 2 of 4 from 3FG and 6 rebounds.  The Falcons are not getting scoring out of the PG position, and last night they had 8 assists over 5 turnovers.

Dickerson made a huge contribution off the bench, with 8 points and taking 5 charges in 15 minutes. 

BG has tightened the rotation up quite a bit, which is not unusual in conference play.  BG had 8 players play 10 minutes or more.  Mayleben and Tisdale did not play at all.

With 8 minutes left, that was a nervous time.  You lose that game and head into the Akron game and suddenly a 4-1 record goes to 4-4 in 7 days.  Instead, BG is now 5-2 in the MAC.  I hope we can put a big crowd there Saturday and break the stranglehold the Zips have had on our team.