BG MBB Moves to 5-1, Second Place tie.

Well, now.  This might be a thing.

BG picked up a win over WMU at the Stroh.  Both teams came in at 4-1 and BG ended up with the victory.  It was an entertaining game and BG closed it out well.  As Coach said after the game, you have to finish well in conference play...you see that in the teams that usually compete for titles.

That's 14-4, 5-1, tied for second, and 7 straight home wins.  It is an astounding turn around.  We are in the range of the Dakich team that lost to the Elite Eight Kent team in the MAC final, looking at records alone.

It is a great amount of fun.

It did not start out great for BG.  They trailed 16-4 with 12:26 to play in the first half.   For the next 12 minutes, they outscored WMU 35-15 to lead by 8.  The run continued into the second half.  With 10 minutes left in the game, BG led by 16.  In total, that's a 22-minute run at 58-30.  Coach said it showed "who we can be."

WMU did rally.  They got the lead into single digits with 6 minutes to play and cut it to 1 with 2:25 left.

Enter Marcus Hill. BG ran clock, and he got into the paint.  In heavy traffic and flying limbs, he missed a layup.  He got the board and missed again.  And then he got the rebound again the finished the job.  BG up 3 with 1:47 left.

WMU on their end ran a nice set out of timeout, Hubbard him Jacquez Brown for a slam and it was back to 1 with 1:29 left.

Those would be the last meaningful points WMU would score.

BG ran clock again and Hill (again) hit a layup with 2 seconds left in the shot clock.  BG up 3, with 1:01 to play.  The Falcons strung together 3 straight stops, collected the boards and 8-8 at the line (6 by Hill, 2 by Thomas) to slam the door. BG won by 5.

BG had 1.09 points per possession and WMU was 1.03.  To me, that's a solid, reproducible win.  Coach Orr used to say that you don't want your shooting percentage to determine your winning percentage.  We are working that hard.  BG shot OK from 3FG at 37% but made only 40% of their 2FGs.  Meanwhile, the Broncos only made 42% of their 2FGs but 53% from 3FG.  Both teams had big games on the offensive boards.  The key--again--was fouls and FTs.  BG just doesn't foul as much.  Even if you take out the four tactical fouls at the end, WMU had 18 fouls and BG 13.  BG made them pay, making 23 of 27 (for a team that normally shoots poorly) and WMU made 5 of 10.  That's +10 if you eliminate the last minute.

Jacquez Brown is a force.  I am not sure why he isn't playing more.  BG did OK on him...he made only 5 of 13 FGs....came in at 69%, and he missed all 4 FTs.  Also, Seth Hubbard, their leading scorer, had only 6 points on 2 of 6 and 0 of 3 shooting.  Owen Lobsinger made all 7 of his 3FGs to set a school record.

Marcus Hill continues to be an absolute force.  He had 28 points.  They made him work for it.  He was 9 of 24 from 2FG and 1 of 2 from 3FG.  He was 7-8 at the line, had 11 rebounds (double double) and took over the game in the final two minutes.

DaJion Humphrey came off the bench with 13 points. He was 4 of 7 shooting, made all 4 FTs and added 3 steals.  Agee had 12 on 3 of 6 and 1 of 1 shooting and 14 rebounds.  His ballhandling has really improved but I think he wasn't playing within himself and he had 6 turnovers.  Trey Thomas had 10.  Spurgin had 9 rebounds.

Wait....and EJay Greer.  He's been playing a little more and coach says he is going to get more minutes.  Young man provided a jolt of energy in the early second half.  In 7 minutes, he had 12 points.  He was 1-2 on 2FG and 2 of 3 from 3FG, add 4-4 at the line, 2 assists and 2 steals.  He is going to be a player for us.

Coach said after the game that Towns is now to the point where he can test the injury.  It didn't sound like it was an imminent return.

And on we go.  Next up is Kent, at 2-4, not having their normal year and then it is Savage Hall on Saturday.  Loving it.  Enjoy...