Falcon MBB Vanquishes Bulls

 So BG MBB comes off the debacle against Ball State.  You can't let it turn into a losing streak and you're facing a team you played a competitive game with when they were without a top-flight player.  You are on the road, whatever that means.  (Home teams are 50-50 in the MAC so far, and that's actually 12th in the nation out of 36).

It was set up to be a big challenge.  Could the Falcons rebound.

And they did.  It was a very sweet victory on a national cable network...it is the kind of win you want to see as you are trying to see if your team has what it takes to compete for a title.

BG took the lead with 17:17 left to play....and led the rest of the way.  That's a measure, to me.  You led a team for 37:17 straight minutes, that's a pretty good performance.  Not that there weren't some ups and downs.  At the 8 minute timeout BG was up 9 and from there on in they pressed the lead to 16 at the break.  They took advantage of some horrid UB shooting, some of which was good defense and some of which was shots not going down.  UB shot 23% overall in the first half.

I think you had to figure that UB was going to shoot better than that in the second half and close the gap.  And they did.  UB slowly chipped away at the lead and didn't get it into single digits consistently until just before the 12 minute timeout.  Past BG teams might have been in real trouble, unable to adjust themselves to being back in a competitive game again.  BG held the line in this case.  It was inside 7 minutes when Javon Graves nailed a 3FG to cut the lead to 1.

The interesting thing is that BG punched back, outscoring the Bulls 17-11 over those last 6:40 to post the win.

It was good drama.  Once the game got to 1, the teams traded 3 empty possessions.  BG had the ball and Justin Turner brought it up and he launched a ridiculous 3 and made it, just when we had to have it  His toes might have been in the Falls.  That was with 5:38 and BG went up 4.  Oh yeah, it was the only 3FG he made in the game.

UB called time.  BG got stops on the next two possessions--and didn't score on their own--and then Mballa split a pair of FTs to make it 3 points with 4:33 left.

And Justin Turner came down and made a shot in the paint and BG got a stop and then Jacob Washington did the same and the lead was 7 with 3:19 left.  

That sequence decided the game.  BG's lead was never less than 5 again as they closed the win out.  Which is also worth noting, based on some past BG teams.  The Falcons had a 7-point lead against a good team with 3 minutes to play and the Falcons held them at arm's length the whole 3 minutes...an eternity in previous seasons.

BG won the game despite getting outshot and not having a great offensive game.  BG scored 1.01 points per possession and UB scored .92.  BG made 35% from 2FG and 22% from 3FG.  

And still won. It was BG's worst shooting in a win since a 2008 upset of Ohio U at ANDERSON ARENA.

UB actually outshot BG.  You rarely win a game when you are outshot.  How did that happen?  First, BG had a slight turnover edge.  BG was unbelievable on the offensive boards, though.  That's their highest OREB% since 2012 in MAC play.  UB was also good on the offensive boards, but not as good.  And then, BG had an advantage at the line.  BG was +10....27 of 37 against 17 of 26.

Coach Orr always said you can't let your shooting percentage determine your winning percentage.  Here's a game where BG shot poorly and got the job done.

Justin Turner is just an incredible player.  He had 25 points on 50% shooting.  That will work any day.  He made 6 of 8 at the line and had 5 rebounds and 5 assists.  He did have 3 turnovers.  And, he had 5 points in BG's decisive run, including that landmark 3 that changed the tone of the game.

Daeqwon Plowden had 13 points and 8 rebounds on a night when he was 2 of 10 from 2FG.  Caleb Fields had 12 on a night where he was 2 of 9 from the field.  He made all 6 FTs.    Also 8 rebounds.

And Jacob Washington.  Jacob is in his first year here and has had an understandable adjustment period.  He played 22 minutes, had a 10 point and 11 rebound double-double and 2 steals.  Those are all career bests.  He was also 4-4 at the line.  I think there's no doubt that BG has a good nucleus of guys who can score the ball, but getting production like this from Washington is just an extra insurance policy for the team for times when they don't want Plowden guarding a 5.

As for offensive rebounds, Washington had 7 and Plowden had 6.

It was a really good victory for BG, for all the reasons listed above.  This is a sweep of UB--a good team, in my view--and a bounceback win after a poor performance.  Coach Huger was extra motivated, actually pumping his fists at times.  It is the kind of thing that winning teams do.  And the performance down the stretch was also something you look for in teams that win conference games.

BG is now 6-1 in the MAC.  No rest for the weary, as the MAC looks to jam games in when facing an unknown future.  Only UT is undefeated and no other MAC team has 1 loss.  BG has a big one at home against Akron on Tuesday, then it is @Miami on Thursday and then NIU at home the next Tuesday and then the Rockets at home the following Saturday.