vs. Eastern Michigan (1/25)

[mbenecke]

FINAL: BGSU 85, EMU 71

Nice, dominant, wire to wire effort.

Stats:

Gordon - 21 points, 3 assists
Reece - 20 points, 6 rebounds
Matiss - 16 points, 4 rebounds
Plowden - 12 points, 5 rebounds

As a team, 26/32 from the free throw line. 13 assists, but only 10 turnovers.

Good stuff, Falcons.

[BGSU33]

It was really, really nice to see this team finally get a relatively easy win in conference play, one where it built an early lead, increased it and never relinquished it. It wasn't pretty, but it was much needed. It would be nice to see many more of these.

[mbenecke]

BG now up to 6th in the MAC, with a chance to get to 5th with a win on Saturday.

Big, big game against Kent State at the Stroh coming up at 5:00pm on Saturday.

[hammb]

EMU is garbage but still a nice win. Was nice to see us build a 15 point lead in the first without Curtis or Plowden being eligible to play much of the half. And diggs basically gave us nothing.

Tough to take too much away against such a poor opponent but very fun to see guys like Matiss, Gordon, and Reece go in there and have big games. Now let's do it again on Saturday and see if we can string some wins.

[Matty B]

The 2nd unit was really good tonight.

16-4 advantage on the offensive glass is an incredible stat regardless of the opponent.

You can see why teams go at Reece early and try to get him in foul trouble.. he really makes us a more dynamic team when he's playing well.

[hammb]

The 2nd unit was really good tonight.

16-4 advantage on the offensive glass is an incredible stat regardless of the opponent.

You can see why teams go at Reece early and try to get him in foul trouble.. he really makes us a more dynamic team when he's playing well.

Yes, Reece frustrates me because he is a very valuable player for us when he's on the court. Yet, due to his foul issues (and Huger's philosophy on guys with fouls) he doesn't even average 20 minutes per game. Still he's our 2nd leading scorer & rebounder, and by far our most efficient scorer of the regular rotation. And unlike some other guys he DOES compete on defense. He's just way too handsy and way too aggressive.

Even last night, he had the great steal for the dunk early on. Then on the next possession (or maybe 2 possessions later) he was again super aggressive on the ballhandler up top and ended up getting a jumpball to go in our favor. From my seat I was nearly certain he fouled the guy on the wrist before he knocked it out and in my mind (especially with MAC refs) it was probably at BEST a 50/50 proposition that he got the jump ball call rather than whistled for a foul.

Yes, it was great we stole a possession. Yes, it looks nice since we got the call. But realistically is reaching in like that, 40' from the basket, a smart gamble by your starting Center, knowing he typically has enough foul issues just defending stuff in the paint? I dunno. To me it's like dude's taking and making an NBA range 3 with a hand in their face. Awesome when it works, but generally speaking I'm not sure it's smart basketball.

[Falcon Fryed]

As much as Huger gets credit when things go wrong he should get credit for the switch to the zone halfway through the second half. EMU was looking for one last run to try to get it under 10 and it really changed their energy.

Between injuries and fouls forcing a tighter rotation it seemed like the team was a lot more in sync and the flow on both ends was better. With the unpredictable substitution pattern it is hard for anyone to play in sync. You can see it on the guys faces as they are checking in and out. The rotations on the defensive end were great but it probably helped EMU had 0 knockdown shooters.

With all that being said EMU was not a very good team and without the big man down low I think they would struggle to beat good D2 teams.

[fanatic13]

Great to get an easy win and one of our best performances of the year. Offense did a great job driving and not settling for jumpers. Only 17 of our 63 field goals were threes and a few of those were fun shots at the end. We need to continue to find a 9 man rotation that works regardless who is healthy.

Also lot of people complain about huger pulling guys in foul trouble but due to our defense our team can't avoid fouls. Plowden had 2 fouls in 5 minutes like reese does a lot. Do we really think if he played 10 more minutes in the first half he could avoid a foul? Took him 1 minute into the second half to get a third

[Hammer]

As much as Huger gets credit when things go wrong he should get credit for the switch to the zone halfway through the second half. EMU was looking for one last run to try to get it under 10 and it really changed their energy.

Between injuries and fouls forcing a tighter rotation it seemed like the team was a lot more in sync and the flow on both ends was better. With the unpredictable substitution pattern it is hard for anyone to play in sync. You can see it on the guys faces as they are checking in and out. The rotations on the defensive end were great but it probably helped EMU had 0 knockdown shooters.

With all that being said EMU was not a very good team and without the big man down low I think they would struggle to beat good D2 teams.

In all fairness the coaching staff was amped up last night and showed a lot more energy. I think our team reflects its leaders. They came out with some fire and that was nice to see.