Falcon MBB Lose 3rd Straight

BG played their first game in Quebec last night, and it did not turn out as hoped.  BG is clearly a work in progress.  WKU played really tough and aggressive defense and it knocked the Falcons on their heels and by the time it all sorted out, BG was too far behind to catch up.

BG led for only 3 minutes and not at all during the final 32 minutes of the game.  They were resilient and kept chipping away, but ultimately couldn't close the gap.  

With 2 minutes left in the first half, BG had cut the lead from 9 to 4.  WKU pushed it back to 7 and then scored the first 8 points of the second half to put the lead to 15.  The lead was over 10 for most of the first 10 minutes of the second half.  BG missed a key opportunity in that range when the Falcons got 7 consecutive stops and generated 0 points, as both teams went over 3 minutes without scoring.

BG got it to 5 with about 8 left--with the ball--but failed to cut it closer.  A minute later they had the ball again down 5 but couldn't sink the shot. The lead got back to 9 but BG chipped it back to 5. They missed 2 opportunities to get closer before Towns was fouled and made 1 FT to cut it to 4 with 2:35 left.

BG got the stop, after all that down 4 with the ball, but turned it over, leading to a WKU score.  Inside of 2 minutes, WKU ground it out and won by 7.

It felt worse than it was at the time. BG actually outshot WKU.  According to this guy, teams that win the EFG battle ONLY (as BG did) win 36% of the time.  BG lost the game with turnovers.  You can't have double the turnovers and win a game, even with a modest shooting advantage.

BG shot 56% from 2FG and 19% from 3FG.  WKU shot 39% and 24%. Because of the extra possessions, they scored one more FG than BG anyway, and were +6 at the line, with BG going 14-22 and WKU going 20-29.  BG remains 346 out of 362 in FT%.  BG's 3FG shooting went from bad to worse.  BG is ranked #332 in that.

Marcus Hill was back at it after a short slump.  He scored 29 on 9 of 13 from 2FG and 11 from 3FG. He drew 9 fouls. He was 8 of 12 at the line with 5 rebounds, but also 5 turnovers.  No other Falcon was in double figures.  Towns had 9 and 5 with 3 turnovers. Agee had 7 points, 6 rebounds and 5 turnovers in a 15 minute stint. Trey Thomas did not start but played 24 minutes, and clearly has some rust on him.  Enough said there.

BG is now 2-3 and it doesn't get easier.  Next up is Lipscomb, a quality team many of us are not familiar with.