Bearcats Blow Falcons Out in Second Half

BG battled UC for a half in the Bill Frack challenge last night at the Stroh.  BG had made some 3FGs, played even on rebounds and turnovers and the Falcons were only 4 at the break, which was a pretty major surprise.  There was a good crowd--over 3,400 and the fifth largest men's crowd in the Stroh--and that might have played a role.  At any rate, BG, heavy underdogs, was running right with the Bearcats.

The second half could not have been more different.  UC came out of the locker room and just destroyed the Falcons, going on a 16-2 run in the first four minutes or so.  They had the lead up to 20 with less than 6 minutes gone and were up 26 with 11 minutes left in the half.  By that time, it was a 26-4 run.  To make matters worse, BG was held without a FG for the last 7 minutes of the game, leaving UC with a 83-50 win in which BG was outscored 48-19 in the second half.

Ouch.  BG's second half numbers are what you would expect.  They shot 22%, 15% from beyond the arc, were -11 on the boards, had 8 turnovers to 1 for UC.  The Bearcats made 7 of 17 from beyond the arc.

That's just a long half of basketball.  Now look, BG wasn't expected to win this game and they didn't.  And I'd guess I would rather play with them for a half than having the second half happen in the first half.  But, if you doubted it, the game left no doubt who stood where.

As you can see below, the difference was shooting.  UC shot 47%/43% and BG shot 29% and 28%. So that's going to leave an unsightly mark.  Overall, UC had a good 1.1 points per possession (in a 75 possession game, which is a lot more than in previous seasons, so adjust overall stats accordingly) and BG had .66 points per possession, which is awful.  Turnovers were even and UC had a significant advantage on the boards.  Getting 28% of the offensive rebounds is not great but getting 19% is very tough to win with.

On an individual basis, Zach Denny had 13 points on 4 of 14 shooting.  Spencer Parker had 10 points on 3 of 6 shooting.  No other Falcons were in double figures.

Alcegaire had 8 rebounds and Joseph had 6.  Pep had 3 assists over 2 turnovers.  Alcegaire had 5 turnovers in 25 minutes played.

Also, Demajeo Wiggins got into the game, so the redshirt is out for him.  Josh Gomez also got in.  Both were DNP against New Orleans.  Antwon Lillard led the team with 30 minutes played.

Anyway, this one is best forgotten about.  The North Dakota Fighting Hawks like next on the schedule Saturday.