March 3, 2008

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -

THE GAME
The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team, coming off a win over a nationally-ranked team, looks to continue that momentum as conference tournament time approaches ... the Falcons of head coach Louis Orr, having completed the home portion of the schedule, take to the road for the final two Mid-American Conference contests, beginning with a Tuesday (March 4) game at the University at Buffalo ... tipoff is 7:00 p.m. at Alumni Arena (6,100) ... following the UB contest, the Brown and Orange will close the regular season with a Sunday (March 9) game at Miami University ... the First Energy MAC Tournament begins on Wednesday, March 12, at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland.

THE OPENING TIP
• The Falcons enter the Buffalo game riding a two-game winning streak ... on Saturday (March 1), BGSU posted a win over nationally-ranked Kent State, 89-83, to close the home portion of the schedule ... guards Brian Moten and Joe Jakubowski ranked 1-2 on the team in scoring for the second-straight game, as each player posted a career-high total vs. the Golden Flashes.

• BGSU has now won four consecutive home games against nationally-ranked opponents ... the Falcons' last loss to a top-25 team at Anderson Arena came nearly three decades ago, against Marquette in December of 1978.

• After averaging 4.4 three-point field goals made per game over the first 24 games of the year, BG has made 31 (10.3 per game) in the last three contests.

GOT OUR MO-JO WORKIN': GUARD COMBO FILLING IT UP
Guards Brian Moten and Joe Jakubowski have provided solid play for the Falcons all year long, but have stepped up their scoring totals as of late ... the tandem has combined for a total of 80 points over the past two games, both wins ... in the Falcons' victory at Detroit (Feb. 23), Moten scored a game-high 18 points, while Jakubowski had a career-high 17 ... one week later (March 1), Moten scored a game- and career-high 24 points in a win over nationally-ranked Kent State, while Jakubowski set a career standard for the second-straight game, with 21 points vs. the Golden Flashes ... Jakubowski also had a career-best 12 assists, with five of his six second-half helpers coming on Moten baskets.

GIANT KILLERS AT THE HOUSE THAT ROARS
As mentioned, the Falcons' win over Kent State Saturday (March 1) was the team's fourth consecutive home win vs. a nationally-ranked opponent ... BGSU beat fifth-ranked Michigan State (all rankings according to Associated Press) in December of 1990, topped #23 Eastern Michigan on Valentine's Day, 1996; and defeated #25 Miami in February of 1999 ... BGSU's last home loss to a top-25 opponent came nearly three decades ago, to #16 Marquette on Dec. 6, 1978 ... since the Associated Press begin conducting a poll on Jan. 20, 1949, the Falcons have a record of 22-47 against nationally-ranked foes ... BGSU is now 13-9 all-time in home games vs. AP Top-25 opponents, including a 7-5 mark since Anderson Arena opened prior to the 1960-61 season.

HOME COOKIN'
The Falcons have finished the home portion of the schedule with an overall mark of 8-5 ... BGSU went 6-2 in MAC home games, doubling the total for last season (3-5 in 2006-07) ... the six conference victories included wins over the teams picked to finish first (Kent State), second (Miami) and third (Ohio) in the East Division in the league's preseason poll.

MUCH IMPROVED
With Saturday's win over Kent State, the Falcons have matched the victory total for all of last season ... BGSU, after going 13-18 a year ago, is now 13-14 with at least three games remaining in 2007-08 ... the Falcons have more than doubled last season's MAC win total ... the 2006-07 team went 3-13 in conference play, and this year's edition of the Falcons is is 7-7 with two games left in league regular-season action.

SEASON WINDING DOWN, RACE FOR SEEDING HEATING UP
With just one week left in the MAC regular-season schedule, the Falcons - picked to finish sixth (i.e., last) in the East Division in the league's preseason poll - have a 6-7 league mark, tied for sixth overall among the 12 teams ... BGSU has doubled the team's MAC win total for all of last season (Falcons went 3-13 in conference play in 2006-07) ... if the regular season ended today, the Falcons would be the eighth seed for the First Energy MAC Tournament, and would face ninth-seeded Toledo in the first round on Wednesday, March 12, with the winner taking on Kent State the following day.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the Buffalo game with an overall record of 13-14, and BGSU is 7-7 in MAC play ... BG is riding a two-game win streak, having posted a road win over Detroit, 81-65, in the O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters event (Feb. 23) before downing nationally-ranked Kent State, 89-83, on Saturday afternoon (March 1) ... BGSU is now 4-4 vs. MAC East Division teams, and the Falcons went 3-3 vs. the West ... the Falcons downed arch-rival Toledo, 69-58, at home before a national-TV audience on Feb. 10, but then dropped five of the next six games, prior to the current two-game win streak.

• The Falcons opened the league schedule with a 52-49 win over Ohio (Jan. 5), before losing at Kent State, 63-49 (Jan. 12) ... the Brown and Orange rebounded with an 83-70 victory against Buffalo (Jan. 17), but suffered an 80-44 setback at UA three days later (Jan. 20) ... after that 2-2 MAC start, BG then won three-straight games, posting narrow home wins over Miami (55-52; Jan. 23) and Northern Illinois (63-59; Jan. 27) before heading to Ball State and picking up a 63-53 decision (Jan. 30) to move to 5-2 in league action ... that winning streak came to an end with a 64-50 loss at Western Michigan (Feb. 2), the first game in that six-game stretch in which the Brown and Orange went 1-5.

• The Falcons opened the season with a 4-2 record, including a 2-1 mark at the season-opening Peggy Cronin Classic at Cincinnati ... the wins in that tourney came over Belmont and host UC ... the Falcons' other victories over the first six games of the year came against Morehead State and at Furman ... then, however, the Brown and Orange suffered a four-game losing streak ... three of those losses came on the road, and none by more than 11 points.

• The Falcons won two of three games on the homestand that bridged the New Year, with a 52-48 win over Eastern Illinois (Dec. 29), a 96-78 loss to Duquesne (Jan. 2) at Anderson Arena and the MAC-opening victory over Ohio.

• The Falcons finished with a record of 8-5 at home, and BG is 4-8 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site games ... BGSU is averaging 64.7 points per game to the opponents' 67.2 ppg ... the Falcons are shooting 44.8 percent from the field, while allowing the opponents to shoot just 40.8%.

• Individually, junior Nate Miller leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.5 points per game ... Miller also paces the Falcons in steals (1.5 spg), and is second on the squad in rebounding (6.3 rpg) and assists (2.6 apg) ... he has hit double digits in scoring in a team-high 21 of BG's 27 games this year.

• Redshirt freshman Chris Knight is second on the team in scoring, and leads the Falcons in rebounding ... Knight, a MAC Freshman-of-the-Year candidate, has 10.7 points and 7.4 boards per game, and is third on the team in blocked shots (1.1 bpg) ... Knight had a double-double at Detroit, his team-leading fourth of the season ... he has been just one rebound away from a double-double on four other occasions.

• Junior Brian Moten, a MAC Sixth-Man-of-the-Year candidate, is third on the team in scoring, averaging 9.2 ppg ... Moten, who is averaging 21.0 points over the last two games, is shooting 53.0 percent from the field, ranking second on the team, and has shot a BG-best 44.9% from the three-point line ... after hitting a career-high six three-pointers, Moten now has made a team-leading 35 triples this season to date.

• Guards Joe Jakubowski and Darryl Clements each have 7.7 points per game ... Jakubowski, a freshman, leads the Falcons in assists, with 3.1 per outing ... he has posted career-high scoring totals in each of the last two games, and also set a career assists standard in the KSU game, with 21 points and 12 helpers vs. the Golden Flashes ... he is second on the team in three-pointers made, with 32 ... Clements is second on the Falcons in steals (1.2 spg), third in assists (2.4 apg) and fourth on the team in rebounding (3.0 rpg) ... Clements is third on the Falcons with 25 three-point FG made.

• Sophomores Otis Polk and Marc Larson have split time at center, and are averaging 5.5 and 4.7 points per contest, respectively ... Polk has 4.3 rpg, ranking third on the team ... he is shooting a team-leading 54.2% from the field, and also leads the Falcons in blocked shots, with 44 (1.6 bpg) ... Larson has 2.8 rpg and 1.2 blocks per game, and is shooting 50.0% from the floor ... he is second on the team in blocks and ranks third in FG pct.

• Soph Ryan Sims has played in 25 games off the bench, and is averaging 1.6 ppg ... Sims has averaged 5.3 ppg over the last three contests ... freshman Cameron Madlock has seen action in 14 games, and has 1.1 ppg and 0.9 rpg ... sophomore Matt Karaffa has played in five games, all on the road ... Karaffa made his collegiate debut in the Indiana State contest, and also saw action at Akron, Western Michigan, Ohio and Detroit.

• In MAC action, Miller leads the team in scoring, with 13.1 ppg, while Moten is also in double digits, at 12.8 ppg ... Miller paces the Falcons in assists in MAC play, with 3.3 apg, while Jakubowski is right behind at 3.1 apg ... Clements has 8.6 ppg and 1.4 steals per game in MAC play, and is tied with Miller for the team lead in the latter category ... Knight also has 8.6 ppg, and has a team-leading 7.3 rpg, while Jakubowski has 8.0 ppg and Polk 5.5 ... Polk also has 4.4 rpg off the bench in conference games ... BGSU is shooting 44.6% from the field to the opponents' 41.6% in MAC action.

• Clements, Larson and Miller each have started all 27 games to date for first-year BGSU head coach Louis Orr ... Jakubowski has started each of the last 19 games, while Knight has started 26 times, including each of the last 16 ... that lineup has taken the floor at the beginning of all 16 games in calendar year 2008 ... the Falcons went 13-18 overall and 3-13 in MAC play in 2006-07.

A WIN OVER BUFFALO WOULD ...
• give the Falcons a three-game winning streak, matching a season best;
• be BGSU's fifth road win of the season (the Falcons would be 5-8 in away games after going 3-10 last year);
• give the Brown and Orange multiple March wins for the first time in five years (since BGSU went 3-2 in March games in the 2002-03 season);
• make the Falcons 13-4 in the all-time series with Buffalo; and
• snap a three-game road losing streak to the Bulls, and give the Falcons a 5-3 record at Alumni Arena.

SCOUTING BUFFALO
Buffalo enters Tuesday's game with an overall record of 9-18, and the Bulls are 2-12 in MAC action to date ... UB is coming off a 76-56 road loss to Akron on Saturday (March 1) ... the Bulls' conference wins came in back-to-back games, at Northern Illinois (89-81; Feb. 5) and at home vs. Eastern Michigan (68-64; Feb. 10) ... UB then lost the next three games before scoring 95 points in a BracketBusters win (95-82) over Youngstown State ... of the Bulls' 12 MAC losses, nine have been by 10 points or fewer ... Buffalo is 6-6 in home games, 1-11 on the road and 2-1 in neutral-site contests ... in MAC action, UB is 1-6 both at Alumni Arena and on the road ... individually, junior guard Andy Robinson leads the team in scoring, with 12.9 points per game ... sophomore G/F Calvin Betts is second, with 9.0 ppg, and leads the Bulls in rebounding, with 6.7 per outing ... Betts is shooting a team-best 51.4% from the field ... sophomore guard Sean Smiley has 8.3 ppg, and paces the team with 48 three-point field goals made (one ahead of Robinson) ... junior G/F Greg Gamble and soph guard Rodney Pierce have 8.0 and 7.4 ppg, respectively ... the two players are tied for the team assist lead, with 67 apiece (2.5 apg) ... Gamble and Robinson each have started all 27 games this year for head coach Reggie Witherspoon ... junior forward Brian Addison (2.0 ppg), freshman forward Jawaan Alston (2.7 ppg) and sophomore guard Byron Mulkey (6.9 ppg) joined Gamble and Robinson in the starting lineup for Saturday's Akron game ... Witherspoon welcomed back 11 letterwinners, including three starters, from last year's team that finished 12-19 overall and 4-12 in the MAC ... Witherspoon has a record of 104-157 in his ninth year at UB ... he is 148-180 in his 11th season as a collegiate head coach ... the school's athletics web site is www.buffalobulls.com.

THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Buffalo, 12-4, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU captured this season's first meeting, 83-70 at venerable Anderson Arena on Jan. 17 ... the teams split last season's two matchups, with the Falcons winning a 74-73 decision at Anderson (Jan. 7, 2007), but UB rebounding with a 98-90 overtime win in New York (Feb. 13, 2007) ... in a series that began in the 1998-99 season, the Falcons are 8-1 in home games and 4-3 in road contests vs. the Bulls ... BGSU won the first four road meetings vs. UB, but the Bulls have won the last three series matchups in Alumni Arena.

LAST TIME OUT
Brian Moten and Joe Jakubowski each had career days as the Falcons downed nationally-ranked Kent State, 89-83, to close the home schedule Saturday afternoon (March 1) ... Moten led the Falcons in scoring for the second consecutive game, scoring a career-high 24 points ... the Saginaw, Mich., native made six three-point field goals as the home team went 11-for-21 from long range ... Jakubowski set a career scoring high for the second-straight game, with 21 points, and also had 12 assists to shatter his previous best ... Nate Miller and Chris Knight each came close to posting a double-double on the afternoon ... Knight had 10 points and nine rebounds, while Miller scored nine points and pulled down a game-high 11 boards ... the Falcons had a 40-31 rebounding advantage ... BGSU's total of 89 points was a season high ... the Falcons scored 51 of those points in the second half, shooting 56.7 percent from the field after halftime ... BG made 17-of-30 second-half shots en route to a 50.8% FG rate for the game ... the Golden Flashes shot 46.0% on the afternoon ... Mike Scott led the visitors with 23 points, while Al Fisher added 20 ... the Falcons jumped out to a 9-2 lead, and had a 21-13 advantage, but the visitors would score nine-straight points ... that run culminated with back-to-back dunks ... but, as they would do all day, the Falcons answered ... BG went on a 12-0 run to take a 35-24 lead ... the Falcons led by nine points at the half, and were 7-for-12 from three-point land in the second half to keep KSU at bay ... the Flashes got to within a single point, 45-44, early in the second period, but BG extended the lead back out to double digits, largely on the strength of the three-pointer ... the Falcons went 6-of-7 from the free-throw line over the last 35 seconds to salt away the victory.

THREE-MENDOUS
The Falcons tied a season high with 11 three-point field goals made in the win over Kent State ... after averaging 4.4 successful triples over the first 24 games of the year, BGSU has made 31 treys (10.3 per game) in the last three contests.

THREE MORE NOTES ON THE THREE-POINTER
• Three of BGSU's highest three-point field-goal totals have come in the last four games ... BGSU made a season-high 11 triples at Ohio (Feb. 19), and hit nine more at Detroit (Feb. 23) and 11 vs. KSU ... BG had hit 10 treys in the Northern Colorado game on Dec. 6.

• The Falcons have gone a combined 31-for-65 (47.7%) in the Ohio, Detroit and Kent State games ... since the final few minutes of the OU contest, the Falcons are 26 of their last 47, for a blistering 55.3% from long distance over the past two-plus contests.

• Freshman Joe Jakubowski, who set a career best with four three-pointers made in the Ohio game, made four more triples at UDM ... after hitting two more treys vs. KSU, Jakubowski has gone 10-for-17 from long range in the last three games ... junior Brian Moten hit a career-high six treys vs. the Flashes, and is 11-for-20 from three-point land in those three contests.

BLOCK PARTY, HOSTED BY OTIS
Sophomore Otis Polk tied his career high with four blocked shots in both the Toledo and Ohio games, and had three more against Akron ... playing in his hometown, Polk added three rejections at UDM ... he now has a total of 44 blocks this year, tying him for the third-highest single-season total in school history ... the Detroit native is now deadlocked with Ed Colbert (44 in 1990-91) ... Cornelius Cash holds the record, with 59 blocks in 1973-74 ... with 74 career blocks, Polk is just one shy of 10th place on that BG chart.

BLOCK PARTY II: CHRIS & MARC STOPPING BY, TOO
Sophomore Otis Polk, as mentioned, is now tied for third on the BGSU single-season list for blocked shots ... classmate Marc Larson and redshirt freshman Chris Knight are adding their names to that same list ... both players blocked three shots in the win over Kent State ... Larson now has 33 blocks this year to date, moving into 10th place on the school list ... Knight now has 29 rejections in 2007-08.

ORR A C-O-Y CANDIDATE
Falcon head coach Louis Orr has performed one of the top coaching jobs in the MAC this season ... taking over a team that lost two starters, including the league's leading scorer from a year ago, Orr lost one of his top big men (Erik Marschall) to injury on the eve of the 2007-08 season ... then, one of the team's top playmakers, Ryne Hamblet, was declared academically ineligible on the eve of the conference season ... still, BGSU has more than doubled the MAC win total for all of last season, and has posted wins over the teams picked to finish first, second and third in the East Division in the preseason poll ... those wins include a victory over nationally-ranked Kent State ... on Feb. 5, Orr was listed as the site's MAC Coach of the Year at the midway point when the MAC Report Online web site (www.macreportonline.com) announced its midseason awards ... among other things, the article stated, 'halfway through the season, Orr is the clear leader for Coach of the Year honors in the MAC."

PHALCON PHRESHMAN PHENOMS
Several first-year Falcons are at the top of their class when it comes to the MAC statistics ... Chris Knight is making his case for league freshman-of-the-year honors ... Knight leads all MAC freshmen in rebounding (7.4 rpg; fifth) and field-goal percentage (45.2%, 16th), and is also the MAC's top freshman shot-blocker (1.07 bpg; seventh) ... Knight is second among MAC frosh in scoring (10.7 ppg, 21st) ... Joe Jakubowski paces all league freshmen in both assists (3.11 apg; 10th) and assist/turnover ratio (1.33; fifth).

MOTEN OFFENSE
Junior Brian Moten is making a strong bid for MAC Sixth-Man-of-the-Year consideration ... Moten had a team-leading 18 points at Detroit, then scored a game- and career-high 24 points in the Falcons' win over nationally-ranked Kent State ... he has provided the Falcons with an offensive spark this season, especially since the 2008 calendar year began ... Moten has hit double digits in scoring 13 times this year, including 12 times in the last 16 games ... he is averaging 9.2 points per game this season, and is second on the team in scoring in MAC games, with 12.8 ppg vs. conference opposition ... Moten leads the entire conference in three-point field goal percentage, both overall (44.9%) and in league games (45.6%).

FREE TACOS
The Falcons scored a season-high 89 points in the win over Kent State ... BGSU tied season bests in both three-point field goals made, with 11, and blocked shots, with 10.

A FEW MORE NOTES FROM THE KENT STATE GAME
• Junior Brian Moten scored a game-high 24 points, the most of his career, vs. the Golden Flashes ... it marked his second career game of 20 points or more ... the first came on Jan. 17, when he had 20 points in the Falcons' win over Buffalo.

• Moten's 24 points tied a BGSU season best ... redshirt freshman Chris Knight scored 24 points in the Falcons' win at Cincinnati on the opening weekend of the regular season (Nov. 11, 2007).

• Freshman Joe Jakubowski had career-high totals in both points and assists, with 21 points and 12 helpers vs. the Flashes ... he had a career-best scoring total for the second consecutive game, after a 17-point game at Detroit the previous Saturday (Feb. 23) ... Jakubowski's assist total nearly doubled his prior best (seven vs. Duquesne on Jan. 2).

• Jakubowski's double-double was the first of his career ... he is the fourth different Falcon to post a double-double this year (joining Knight, junior Nate Miller and sophomore Otis Polk), and the first to hit double digits in both points and assists.

MILLER TIME
Junior Nate Miller has been a go-to player for the Falcons this year ... he leads the team in scoring and steals, and ranks second in rebounding and assists this season, with averages of 13.3 points, 6.3 boards, 2.9 helpers and 1.5 steals per outing.

• The junior has led or tied for the team lead in scoring 10 times this season ... he has paced BG in rebounding in 13 games this year and in assists eight times.

• Miller had back-to-back 20-point games, with 20 vs. Central Michigan and 21 more - tying his career high - vs. Toledo ... he had a double-double in the latter game, with 11 rebounds (plus five assists) in the win over the Rockets ... Miller has a team-high 21 double-digit games this season to date, including four games of 20 points or more.

KNIGHT TIME IS THE RIGHT TIME
• Chris Knight is a candidate for MAC Freshman-of-the-Year honors ... Knight has had two double-doubles in the last four games, with identical totals of 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds against both Akron and Detroit ... he missed a double-double by one rebound in the win over KSU.

• Knight has hit double digits in scoring in 17 games this year, and is averaging 10.7 points per game ... he is second in scoring, and leads the Falcons in rebounding, with 7.4 per contest (fifth in the MAC) ... Knight has four double-doubles this season - the highest total of any freshman in the MAC - and has missed a double-double by a single rebound on four occasions.

• Knight has hit double digits in rebounding six times this year, and has had nine boards in six other games ... his three 20-point games include a 24-point outing in his hometown, in a win at Cincinnati.

UP NEXT
Following the Buffalo game, the Falcons will end the regular season with a Sunday (March 9) contest at Miami ... that game, which begins at noon at Millett Hall, will be televised on Fox Sports Net Ohio ... then, the Brown and Orange will prepare for the First Energy MAC Tournament, which begins on Wednesday, March 12, at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland.