BG MBB breaks losing skid

The five-game losing streak didn't get to six, as BG beat Morgan State in what ended up being an exciting game at the Stroh as the team heads into finals and then a roadtrip to Norfolk.

For much of the game it looked like it would be the sixth loss. The Bears got out to a 13-5 lead and lead the entire half from there.  They stretched the lead as high as 12 and it ended at 8 at the half.  At this point, it just looked really familiar to what we had been seeing in previous games.

The second half didn't start much better.  5 minutes in, the lead had stretched back to 13.

Everything changed at that point.

BG went on a 15-2 run over 3 minutes or so to tie the game.  It didn't stop there, as if often does.  Over the last 15 minutes of the game, BG went on a 50-27 run to end up with a 10 point win.

The game was still close with about 2 minutes left.  BG led by 5 and everything was still in play until there was a collision along the left sideline, in front of the scorer's table and the referee didn't call a foul and Morgan State's coach Scandal-Plagued-Kevin-Broadus lost his mind, drew two "Class A" technicals in about 3 seconds and was escorted to the exit by the police like a fired CEO.  Curtis nailed all four of the FTs and it was a 9-point lead and that was that.

That's an amazing turn for this team, which has often struggled to score 50 points in 30 minutes.  What happened?  First, BG went to some pressure and that sped the game up and it got BG into a transition offense, at which they were effective at scoring.  We've all seen that often painful half court game BG plays (as Coach stands on the sideline and yells "move!"

So that had to be better.  It was a 74-possession game, BG's fastest since Wright State.

I'm not sure if this is a model for us moving forward, but it has to be worth a try.

Of course, we won't continue playing the Bears, either.

One look at the chart shows you the difference in the game.  Yes, BG evened out the shooting battle.  (We won't mention how poorly Morgan State shoots in general).  Yes, BG kept the turnovers low given the Bears full court pressure. And offensive rebounding was high for both.

But the FTs.  OMG.  So the tempo-free way is to calculate the rate as FTA/FGA.  BG was 30-42 at the line, for 71%, which is a little bit above D1 average. It's the highest free throw rate since a January, 2018 game against Akron, which we, naturally, lost.  Our preview showed that Morgan State fouled a lot and that certainly came true and it was the deciding factor in the game.

Overall, it was BG's best offensive game since Oakland. BG made 53% of the 2FGS, a season high. They made 33% of their 3FGS...the second-best rate of the year. 

Defensively, this is OK but nothing to be proud of.  Morgan State came in one of the worst shooting teams in the country and they shot well against the Falcons.

Individually, to me the story was Rashaun Agee.  Coming off the bench, he played 24 minutes. scored 17 points on 6-10 shooting and had 9 rebounds and was +30.  He just brought energy to a team that can tend to have....not. I mean, +30 is something else, especially in those minutes.  Coach said that he will have a difficult decision as to whether to put Agee back in the starting lineup and that he isn't starting due to "consistency" issues.

BG's leading scorer was Leon Ayers IIII.  He had 22 with 5-7 2FG shooting and 1-3 with 3FG, 9-11 at the line.  He had 3 assists and 1 turnover and was +13.

Agee and Ayers drew 9 fouls each.

Samari Curtis had 18, 1 of 5 from 2FG and 3-6 from 3FG.  He made 7 of 8 at the line, including all four of the technical FTs.  Chandler Turner had 143 on 3 of 5 and 2 of 3 shooting and 6 rebounds.

Other little notes.  Anthony McComb struggled shooting but had 3 assists over 1 turnover in 25 minutes.  Willie Lightfoot had 3 steals.

And Kaden Metheny missed his second straight game.

So, the team has the week off to study.  Hampton and Norfolk State are next, starting a week from today.