BG MBB Defeats Hampton

The BG men are in the Norfolk metroplex and picked up their first win, with one another game to come.  They cruised to a relatively uncontested win over the Hampton Pirates.  BG took the lead :46 into the first half and never trailed again.  They build the lead to 21 with about 7 minutes left in the first half, and led by 16 at halftime.  HU cut the lead to 7 with 12 left in the game, but BG ran the lead into double-digits and led by 10 or more....and usually considerably more....for the remainder of the half.

That's what you would hope for against a team like Hampton, which is #337 in the country. From Todd Walker's description, BG was relatively listless, only to be matched or exceeded by Hampton's lack of energy.

As mentioned, it was expected to be a game with a lot of possessions, and it was, at 73.  BG had 1.17 points per possession, almost exactly what they had against Morgan State.  They allowed .98, which was considerably better and the 3rd best of the year.

BG won the shooting, turnover, and rebounding battles, all of which was good enough to overcome the FT advantage the Pirates had, which was +7.

BG took a lot of 3FGs...49% of shot attempts, which is the most since Norfolk State last year. BG made 36% from 3FG which is above D1 average and their best since Oakland.  They made 49% from 2FG.  Hampton, on the other hand, made a stunning 31% of the 2FGs--a weakness all year and the lowest in two seasons.  They were pretty good from 3FG, with 45%, but only 36% of their shots were from 3FG.

BG also had a really good effort on turnovers and did a great job on the boards, both ways.  BG's defensive rebounding was especially good, based on expectations.  The preview noted HU would get to the line, and they surely did.  The Pirates got to the line 35 times but made only 23 (66%).  BG was 16 of 25 (64%).

BG put six guys into double figures.

Samari Curtis had 14, but it was tough, on 1 of 3 and 2 of 7 shooting.  He added 4 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 TO.

Rashaun Agee had 14...on 5 of 5 and 1 of 2 shooting, added 8 rebounds.  He did this in 16 minutes.  He is coming off the bench and appears to be our most productive player.  He does have an issue with fouls, or he would play more.  He averages 5.8 fouls per 40...which is a lot except when you find out that two Falcons are worse--Lightfoot and O'Neal.

Isaac Elsasser has a big game and a key role. He scored 13 on 4 of 5 3FG shooting and 3 offensive rebounds.

Willie Lightfoot had 11, on 2 of 2 and 2 of 4 shooting.  He added 5 assists over 1 turnover in 15 miutes.

Leon Ayers had 10, on 3 of 6 and 1 of 1 shooting.  He had 3 assists over 0 turnovers.

Sam Towns had 10 on 3 of 6 and 1 of 3 shooting, and added 7 rebounds in 23 minutes.

Others:   Turner had 7 rebounds and Kaden Metheny returned to the lineup after missing two game4s.  He continues to struggle with his shot--as in missing all 6 shots--but had 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 turnover in 34 minutes....in a game where BG took really good care of the ball overall.

BG had assists on 83% of their field goals.

Norfolk is up next Wednesday, at 8 pm now.  With a win, BG will be 5-5 on the year