CMU Recap/KS Preview (MBB)

Well, now.  What a time that was.  I'm telling you...you follow a team...there are good times, they are bad times.  And then a night like today.  So proud of our guys.  I know.  One game.  A quarterfinal.  A big win in a hard fought game.  CANNOT WAIT for the next one.

And Toledo....we WON'T see you at the game.

It was a competitive, if low-scoring game.  CMU led for 18 minutes, but never by more than 6.  BG's biggest lead was at the end.  Neither team had a scoring run more than 8 and there were 9 lead changes and 10 ties.  Both teams were in touch the entire way.

Fittingly, it was tied with 3:35 left.

Then, BG closed with the run that decided the game and sent their fans home happy.  BG finished the game on a 11-1 streak.  Actually, that's not exactly right.  It was Trey Thomas 11....CMU 1.

And 3 rebounds.

It started with 3:01 left when he pulled an offensive rebound down and BG reset before Thomas hit a floater in the paint.  2:50 left, BG took :45 off the clock and scored and were up 2.

BG gets a stop on a missed 3FG, Thomas clears the board. BG runs offense, and with 2:01 left Thomas nails a 3FG to put the Falcons up 5.

CMU calls time.  Butler gets to the rim, Spurgin fouls him and Butler, a 76% FT shooter, splits the pair.  BG up 4 with 1:55 left.  BG ran the shot clock all the way down before Thomas was fouled going to the rim.  He made both free throws, BG up 6 with 1:25 left.

The teams traded empty possessions and with :52 left Markus Harding was barelling to the rim, but Agee blocked his shot--one of the plays of the game--and Hill grabbed the board.  BG was not in the bonus yet, so it took CMU 3 fouls to get BG to the line with :37 left.  Everyone in our section remembered the game at Mt. Pleasant where BG was up 4 with :19 left and lost in OT, so we were all riding it out.  

BG got two more stops, and Thomas added 2 more FTs and 1 more rebound and it was over.

Sweet victory.

Here's how it worked out.  Yes, BG struggled to shoot against CMU again.  As noted, they are hard to shoot against.  BG was 38% from 2FG....but 35% from 3FG, which was enough to make the difference.  Just as importantly, BG held CMU to just 44% overall, 40% on 2FG and 33% on 3FG.  BG lost the turnover battle, too.

But, like the games in which BG has succeeded, they won on the boards and got to the line. That rebound number is impressive.  It was BG's 2nd best offensive rebounding game of the year and their 4th best defensive rebounding game.   Finally, BG won the FT battle.  BG held CMU to 40% on 2FG and committed only 10 fouls and only 4 in the second half. BG made 79% from the line, with 15 of 19 while CMU was 4 of 6.  Yes, sir.

Trey Thomas started the season injured and hasn't always seemed to be on track.  But he was all of it in this one.  He scored 20, shooting 1 of 2 from 2FG, 4 of 8 from 3FG, 6-6 at the line, all in crunch time, 6 rebounds and 1 steal.  If something like that interests you.

Rashaun Agee.  What can you say? A career high 17 rebounds.  He's as good a rebounder we have had since Nate.  He has 320 rebounds this year. Wiggins had 362 in his senior year and then you're back to Cornelius Cash before you get a higher number.  He added 13 points and a monster crunch time block.

They held Marcus Hill to 11 on 3 of 14 and 1 or 2 shooting.  He also had 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 turnovers.  Coach said after the game that he does more for us than score.  He never left the floor.

So, Kent is next.  BG played them once and lost in OT at the Stroh.  Here's the way it looked for that game.  Look familiar?  The only difference was that BG can't let Kent shoot like that.  They were 50% on 2FG and 47% on 3FG.

In fact, there's a good chance they don't shoot that well tonight, even as the #2 3FG shooting team in the conference. 

They are big and physical.  For my money, the most consistently physical team in the MAC.  They seem to be willing to commit 10 fouls on every possession and dare the ref to call them.  Also, they blocked 5 shots against UT and held them to 44% on 2FG. 

In general, they have not been great on defense....#10 in the MAC, which is what had them in 8th place.  They are good on turnovers and defensive rebounding, but give up a ton of FTs and have been easy to make 2FGs against.  They certainly were not last night. (Not to rag on UT, which I already did, but they just seemed flat the entire time.)

I kind of see a similar game to last night and the first meeting.  Kent is favored, 58% chance of winning on kempom, 64% on ESPN and 1.5 points in Vegas.  

Kent is also tournament tough.  They are used to playing in the tournament and succeeding.  For me, the key will be for BG to get more stops than we did the first time.  Here we go!!!!!