Home Team: BGSU Falcons
Visiting Team: Ball State Cardinals
Venue: Stroh Center (Bowling Green, Ohio)
Game Time: 4:00 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: Brandi
Game Story | Box Score
Of all the things I miss about living in Bowling Green - and there are several - going to BG basketball games is at the top of the list. Being a couple of hours away makes it tough to get back as often as I'd like, and it's always a treat when I get back to the ol' alma mater for some hoops. And it seems poised to be even more of a treat now that the Falcons appear poised to play consistently competent basketball.
Prior to this year, the only coach the Falcons had known in their tenure at the Stroh Center was Louis Orr, who never had a great deal of success. Sure, they won their division of the MAC one year (his only winning record in seven seasons), and they played hard, but they played a lot of sloppy, uninspired basketball, and they were never much fun to watch, aside from an occasional player here and there. So there weren't too many people happier than me when Coach Orr was cut loose following the expiration of his contract and Chris Jans was brought in. I wanted to get to a game earlier this season to see the new-look Falcons for myself, and just could never make it work until now, but I had watched them play on TV and the Internet whenever possible and found myself quite impressed with the style of play Coach Jans had brought in. Not to mention the results, of course.
At any rate, I was really excited to finally see this team play at the Stroh. Early on - well, for pretty much the entire first half - it didn't look good. BG wasn't hitting shots, and they looked a little flat and out of sorts. Ball State was really working hard to take away Richaun Holmes in the post, and it was throwing everything else off. Down 27-23 at halftime, I have no doubt that this was a game that last year's time would have lost, and probably by a lot.
This year's time, though, fought through it. The shooting didn't improve much in the second half, but they tightened up on defense and in general and looked a lot better, taking the lead and then pulling away for not just a win, but a comfortable one. And I have to say, I was really impressed with Zack Denny. Being from the Dayton area, I had heard quite a bit about him, and my impression was that he was mostly just a shooter. It turns out he actually has a very solid all-around game. He was everywhere, making good plays and doing all sorts of little things. He ended up with a double-double and led the team in scoring, which, with Richaun usually facing a double-team, was sorely needed.
Now, getting to the game was a little bit of an adventure. Brandi and I left Columbus around 12:30, planning to get into BG well ahead of the game so we'd have time for a late lunch before heading over to the arena. It worked out, but it was a lot closer than it should have been due to some construction on I-75 that had traffic at a complete standstill for several minutes on a few different occasions. But we made it, and the only thing that really suffered was our chance to wander around the Stroh for a few minutes prior to the game. This was Brandi's first visit, and we didn't have any time to explore, but it turned out okay. We had a great time, and got to see a very solid MAC win.
Game Story | Box Score
Of all the things I miss about living in Bowling Green - and there are several - going to BG basketball games is at the top of the list. Being a couple of hours away makes it tough to get back as often as I'd like, and it's always a treat when I get back to the ol' alma mater for some hoops. And it seems poised to be even more of a treat now that the Falcons appear poised to play consistently competent basketball.
Prior to this year, the only coach the Falcons had known in their tenure at the Stroh Center was Louis Orr, who never had a great deal of success. Sure, they won their division of the MAC one year (his only winning record in seven seasons), and they played hard, but they played a lot of sloppy, uninspired basketball, and they were never much fun to watch, aside from an occasional player here and there. So there weren't too many people happier than me when Coach Orr was cut loose following the expiration of his contract and Chris Jans was brought in. I wanted to get to a game earlier this season to see the new-look Falcons for myself, and just could never make it work until now, but I had watched them play on TV and the Internet whenever possible and found myself quite impressed with the style of play Coach Jans had brought in. Not to mention the results, of course.
At any rate, I was really excited to finally see this team play at the Stroh. Early on - well, for pretty much the entire first half - it didn't look good. BG wasn't hitting shots, and they looked a little flat and out of sorts. Ball State was really working hard to take away Richaun Holmes in the post, and it was throwing everything else off. Down 27-23 at halftime, I have no doubt that this was a game that last year's time would have lost, and probably by a lot.
This year's time, though, fought through it. The shooting didn't improve much in the second half, but they tightened up on defense and in general and looked a lot better, taking the lead and then pulling away for not just a win, but a comfortable one. And I have to say, I was really impressed with Zack Denny. Being from the Dayton area, I had heard quite a bit about him, and my impression was that he was mostly just a shooter. It turns out he actually has a very solid all-around game. He was everywhere, making good plays and doing all sorts of little things. He ended up with a double-double and led the team in scoring, which, with Richaun usually facing a double-team, was sorely needed.
Now, getting to the game was a little bit of an adventure. Brandi and I left Columbus around 12:30, planning to get into BG well ahead of the game so we'd have time for a late lunch before heading over to the arena. It worked out, but it was a lot closer than it should have been due to some construction on I-75 that had traffic at a complete standstill for several minutes on a few different occasions. But we made it, and the only thing that really suffered was our chance to wander around the Stroh for a few minutes prior to the game. This was Brandi's first visit, and we didn't have any time to explore, but it turned out okay. We had a great time, and got to see a very solid MAC win.
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