Falcon MBB Punch Ticket to Cleveland

So, you wanted an easy win?  You got it...in one of the two biggest games of the year.

BG did what it needed to do, coming up with a complete, all-round performance to beat the Zips, the highest-ranked team in the MAC.  BG is alone in first place with three games to play, has clinched a bye and is one win from clinching a top-two finish.

As noted in the preview, BG's history against Akron is ridiculous.  That 15-year, 29-3 run for Akron is unprecedented in our history.  To be a top program, BG had to rewrite the narrative, and getting regular-season splits over the last two seasons is a great start.

And, of course, we might see the Zips one more time.

Let me tell you how good it feels to write a game summary and not have to do a tick tock on the final two minutes.  BG was up 12-5 with 14 left in the first half.  Akron had a terrible shooting night and it put them behind right away.  BG popped the lead to 11 with 9 minutes left and put it to 10 with 4 minutes left on a Frye 3FG.  For the final 24 minutes of the game, the lead was never in single digits again.

BG led by 15 at the half, heading to the locker room on another Frye 3FG.  As you would expect, Akron came out hard in the second half, but BG absorbed the blow and lead by 21 with about 16 left.  About 8 minutes in Akron had a little run to get it to 12, but dead-eye shooter Marlon Sierra hit 3s on two possessions to put the lead over 20.

From there on in, BG held them back.  Unlike the Ball State game, BG continued to play incredibly hard.  Everytime someone from Akron drove to the basket, there were hands swatting at the ball from all directions.  BG played closeout, championship defense at the end and Akron never made it a game again.

So, you lead 24 straight minutes by double digits over a very good team...that's a convincing performance.  BG led for 36 minutes overall.

It was a tough game.  There were numerous technicals.  Terry Wymer was one of the officials and they were determined to keep control of the play.

BG has won 27 of its last 30 at home.

The game was played fast, at 72 possessions, above the conference average of 69.  BG scored 1.09 per possession, one of their better games of the season.  They scored more against UT and CMU, but when you take into account an opponent that plays actual defense, it was probably our best game.   It was Akron 3rd worst defensive game of the MAC season.

Meanwhile, BG held Akron to .83 points per possession, their second-worst of the season and their worst in MAC play....by a lot.  The next MAC worst was .9....against EMU!

Shooting pretty much told the whole story.  Akron is the top shooting team in the MAC, #1 in 3FG and #2 in 2FG...and they try about half of their FGs from 3.  They did the same thing at the Stroh, trying 49% of their FG attempts from 3FG....the most of any MAC opponent this year.

They did not shoot well at all.  They made only 5 of 35 3FGs...that's incredible.  At one point, they were 1 of 24.  Yes, they missed some open looks but BG guarded them hard, especially in the second half.  UA also shot the 3FG poorly in our game at the JAR (not this poorly, but poorly) but Akron compensated by beating an overplaying BG defense to the rim.  In this case, BG had its defense down, rotating and helping.  UA shot 44% from 2FG, well below their season average of 50%.

Meanwhile, BG didn't have a great shooting game, shooting 36% on 2FGs.  But, BG made 44% of 3FGs and ended up with a decent shooting percentage.

BG turned the ball over a lot, really for the third straight game.  They had some early and it did get stabilized as the game moved on.  Not turning the ball over is a key to our attack, because we aren't a great shooting team.  Both teams had a good game on the offensive boards and BG had a great game at the line.  BG made 22 of 27.  Akron came in leading the MAC and making 80% (nearly) but made only 13-19 (68%).

Before we get to BG individually, let's stop and appreciate Loren Christian Jackson.  This guy is a player.  He's 5'7" and he cannot be stopped.  It's something to watch and you just have to admire him.  He scored 35 points.  BG made him work for it...he was 9 of 13 on 2FG but 3 of 13 from 3FG. (Imagine if that had been normalized).  He also made all 8 of his FTs.  That's 58% of their points.

He's an absolute nightmare.

For BG, their nightmare had a nice game.  Just like at the JAR, they put constant pressure on Turner, double-teaming him.  Coach has been saying he wants Justin to attack those double teams and you could see him making the effort, but that's a tough double team to split--you're going to get played physically--and it caused problems.  He was 2 of 7 from 2 FG and 2 of 3 from 3FT, but made them pay for that physical play by making 9 of 10 from the line for 19 points.

Dylan Frye?  He showed why he matters.  He scored 16 on 3 of 7 from 3FG, made 5 of 7 at the line, and had 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 turnover....in 23 minutes.  If that kind of thing interest you.

Caleb Fields had 13, including 2 key 3FGS in the early second half to keep AK on their back foot.  He made 3 of 5 overall from 3FG, had 3 steals and took the brunt of the work on Jackson.  He even did a good job there...you might not think so, given Jackson's 35 points, but they run their offense through him and Fields guarded him hard.

Daeqwon Plowden had a great game.  He scored 10 on 4 of 8 2FG shooting (0-3 from 3FG), but added 13 rebounds and played lock-down defense on Xeyrious Williams.  Here's a team guy...doing the dirty work and taking the points when they come his way.  Love Daeqwon Plowden's game so much.

Mattos had 9 rebounds in 16 minutes...I just feel like when he gets comfortable around the rim on the offensive end we might have a decent player.  Sierra made those shots.  Matiss provided some good minutes.

It was a great night to be a Falcon.  So proud of these guys and what they have built.  We're not done, but it's been a great ride. You can't deny it.  We got a shot to get this thing done.