Falcons Return To Stroh Center To Face Detroit Mercy On Saturday

OPENING TIP
* Bowling Green and Detroit Mercy will play for the ninth-consecutive season. BGSU has won four of the last five meetings, but Detroit Mercy leads the all-time series, 24-17.
* Detroit Mercy won last season's game on Dec. 12 in Calihan Hall by a score of 95-80.
* With a victory, Michael Huger will earn his 20th win as a head coach.
* Bowling Green will look to continue to protect its home court at the Stroh Center. BGSU is 3-2 at home this year, and all of the Falcons' wins in 2016-17 have come at the Stroh Center.
* After a tough road trip to start the month, which saw BGSU lose at both Cincinnati and Evansville, the Falcons will be in search of their first win in the month of December on Saturday. Bowling Green is 4-4 in the month of December under Michael Huger.
* Sophomore Demajeo Wiggins will enter Saturday's game fresh off the first double-double of his career. On Tuesday (Dec. 6) in Evansville, Wiggins scored a career-high 18 points, and also tied his career high with 12 rebounds.

HUGER'S THOUGHTS ON DETROIT MERCY
"It has been a roller coaster ride to start to the season. Losing close games to Oakland, South Dakota, UMKC and Evansville has certainly been frustrating, but our team has remained positive, and we are ready to focus our efforts on our game against Detroit Mercy. The Bowling Green vs. Detroit Mercy matchup is one that always turns out to be competitive, and I expect nothing less on Saturday. With a new coach and a new system, Detroit Mercy is slowly building their identity, but they have a ton of talent, and they have improved in each game they've played this season. My staff and I will remind our guys that they need to play with a chip on their shoulder since Detroit Mercy handed us a loss last season. Our non-conference schedule has been loaded with games that will prepare us for MAC play, and this one will be no different."

SCOUTING THE DETROIT MERCY TITANS
Bacari Alexander, a Detroit Mercy graduate who spent the previous six seasons as an assistant at the University of Michigan, is in the first year at the helm of his alma mater. After two exhibition losses to Division II opponents in Wayne State and Ferris State, the Titans beat Adrian by 30 points to open the 2016-17 season. However, Detroit Mercy has since lost eight-consecutive games, and will enter Saturday's game with a 1-8 record. The Titans are allowing 86.8 points per game, and opponents are shooting 51.6 percent against Detroit Mercy. Alexander's Titans have spread around the scoring. Starters Josh McFolley (13.3), Jaleel Hogan (12.7), Chris Jenkins (11.7) and Corey Allen (10.9) are all averaging double figures for a team that scores 74.4 points per game and shoots 43.8 percent from the floor.

PROTECT THE STROH
Bowling Green has played its best basketball at the Stroh Center this season. The Falcons are on a three-game winning streak at home, and have not lost in Bowling Green since Nov. 20. The Orange and Brown have won all of its game in 2016-17 at home, and own an overall record of 3-2 at the Stroh Center this season. Furthermore, Bowling Green picked up its 50th win in the history of the Stroh Center on Nov. 26 against Morgan State. The Falcons defeated Morgan State, 90-58. BGSU is now 51-33 all-time at the Stroh Center.

MID-MAJOR MADNESS
For a mid-major program, Bowling Green has played one of the more difficult schedules in the country. Along with playing traditional mid-major powers in Oakland, Murray State, Evansville and Green Bay, the Falcons went on the road to play Cincinnati from the American Athletic Conference. BGSU's Division I opponents have combined for a 44-29 record to this point. The Falcons have played an AP Top 25 team in Cincinnati, which is ranked No. 22 in the country, while also battling a total of five teams that are ranked, or receiving votes, in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. Additionally, all four of Bowling Green's road games – at Oakland (8-1), South Dakota (7-4), Cincinnati (7-1) and Evansville (5-4) – have come against schools that currently have winning records.

FOUR FINAL-MINUTE LOSSES
Bowling Green's 3-6 record does not take into account the fact that the Falcons have been in nearly every ballgame in 2016-17. In BG's season-opening loss at Oakland (Nov. 11), the Falcons trailed by three with 6:08 to go, and five with 1:51 remaining. In the Falcons' next game at South Dakota (Nov. 13), the score was tied with 1:35 left in regulation. With the score even, UMKC (Nov. 19) beat BGSU with a jumper with 2.2 seconds left, and then in the Orange and Brown's loss at Evansville (Dec. 6), Antwon Lillard's game-tying three at the buzzer rimmed out. Although BGSU, more times than not, has come up on the short end in close games this year, the Falcons did beat Murray State on Nov. 21 on Zack Denny's game-winning triple with 53 seconds left.

A TOP-60 REBOUNDING TEAM
Heading into the season, not many individuals thought that the Falcons would be a strong rebounding team. Wes Alcegaire, who played the wing last season, has shifted into more of a post role. The 6-foot-7 Alcegaire is playing the stretch forward position that Spencer Parker played last season. On the wing, Zack Denny and Antwon Lillard are thought of more as guards than forwards. Nonetheless, the Falcons rank 57th in the country in rebounds per game (39.8). Additionally, Bowling Green ranks 46th in the land in defensive rebounds per game (28.6). The Falcons have a plus-2.4 rebounding margin, and have won the battle on the glass in six of the first nine games of 2016-17.

A DEEP TEAM IS A FRESH TEAM
At the first Falcons Nest Coaches Show (Dec. 1) of the year, head coach Michael Huger commented on his rotation, and specifically the number of players that were receiving minutes. Huger noted that since his team has been deeper this year, players aren't being asked to log heavy minutes. The result of that has been that players have been fresher late in games. Bowling Green has 10 players averaging at least 14.0 minutes per game. BGSU's starting five – Zack Denny (29.8), Antwon Lillard (26.6), Wes Alcegaire (26.1), Ismail Ali (26.0) and Demajeo Wiggins (23.7) – are all playing at least 23.0 minutes per game, while everyone that has seen significant minutes off the bench – Matt Fox (18.1), Dylan Frye (17.2), Rodrick Caldwell (17.0), Rasheed Worrell (16.4) and Jeffrey Uju (14.0) – are playing at least 14.0 minutes.

DENNY KEEPS SCORING ON JOURNEY INTO BGSU RECORD BOOKS
Senior guard Zack Denny has scored in double figures in each of BGSU's last seven games, while also hitting at least one triple over the past six games. His 11-point outing last game at Evansville (Dec. 6) marked the 40th time in his career that he's scored in double figures. Denny is 212 points shy of becoming the 44th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. He's also just six three-point field goals shy of tying Jordon Crawford (2009-13) for 10th most all-time in program history. Along with hitting the game-winning three with 53 seconds left to lift BGSU to its first win of the season on Nov. 21 against Murray State, Denny ranks first on the team in scoring (12.4 PPG). After scoring 11 points in a win over Notre Dame College (Nov. 29), Denny scored 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting at Cincinnati (Dec. 4).

TWON HAS BEEN TERRIFIC IN A STARTING ROLE
Sophomore guard Antwon Lillard has made 11 career starts. Lillard made three starts last season, all of which came in the MAC Tournament, and has now started eight of BGSU's nine games this season. The sophomore has scored in double digits in six of those starts. In those 11 starts, Lillard is averaging 11.5 points and 5.3 rebounds, while shooting 47.8 percent from the field. Lillard recorded the first double-double of his career in BGSU's last home game against Notre Dame College (Nov. 29), as he scored 13 points and pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds. Aside from scoring the basketball at a high clip, Lillard has been rebounding extremely well in 2016-17. He's established a new career best for rebounds in two of the last four games.

DEMAJEO'S FIRST DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Sophomore big man Demajeo Wiggins turned in a career performance at Evansville (Dec. 6) on Tuesday. He registered the first double-double of his career by scoring a career-high 18 points. He also tied his career high for rebounds with 12, and went 8-for-13 from the free throw line while logging a career-high 32 minutes. Wiggins went 5-for-9 from the field. Wiggins, who hails from Toledo, Ohio, has now recorded 10-plus points, or 10-plus rebounds, in five of the last six games. Wiggins has experienced one of the biggest improvements at the free throw line in the history of college basketball this season. After shooting 37.9 percent (22-of-58) at the line last year, he's up to 73.5 percent (36-of-49) in 2016-17, and has already made 14 more free throws than he did all of last season, despite attempting nine less shots.

WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY?
Junior Matt Fox, who was put on scholarship just hours before BGSU's win over Murray State (Nov. 21), has adapted well to his increased role this season. The guard, who often times this season has played the power forward position, does more than just shoot threes. However, three-point shooting has been Fox's calling card since arriving on campus, and he's been very effective this season from downtown. Fox has hit a three in each of BGSU's last five games. Over that five-game stretch, Fox is 9-for-15 (60.0 percent) from downtown. The Maumee, Ohio native has hit at least two triples in four games this season, while also having a 4-for-7 game from three-point land versus Morgan State (Nov. 26).

ANOTHER ALCEGAIRE BIG SCORING NIGHT
Senior forward Wes Alcegaire ranks second on the team in scoring, as he's averaging 12.2 points per game. He's been prone to big scoring nights, as well. In back-to-back games, Alcegaire dropped 20 points versus Notre Dame College (Nov. 29), and then scored 16 points at Cincinnati (Dec. 4). He also had a 19-point game at Oakland (Nov. 11) to open the season, and has scored in double figures five times this season. The Miami, Florida native has shot at least 50.0 percent in each of the last four games. Alcegaire also leads Bowling Green in three-point makes with 14.

DEEP FRYE
Over BGSU's last five games, freshman Dylan Frye has made 8-of-16 attempts from downtown. Frye has proved to be a dynamic scorer off the bench, and has seen increased minutes as the season has progressed. The Pembroke Pines, Florida native now is second on the bench in minutes per game at 17.2. Frye has made at least one triple in four of Bowling Green's last five games, and is shooting 38.1 percent (8-for-21) from deep for the season. For the season, the freshman is averaging 5.4 points per game, and is shooting 41.5 percent from the field.

ISMAIL "ASSIST" ALI
Ismail "Ish" Ali is the type of floor general that scorers enjoy playing with. The senior, who hails of South Hayward, California, has been dishing out dimes at a high rate. Ali has had five-plus assists in each of the last five ballgames, including back-to-back games of six assists on the last road trip. Before that, Ali racked up a season-high nine assists in a win over Notre Dame College (Nov. 29). Along with averaging 6.0 assists per game this year, Ali's scoring, rebounding and free throw shooting are all up from a season ago. The senior floor general is averaging 7.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and is shooting 73.1 percent from the free throw line.

CAREER NIGHT ON THE ROAD FOR CALDWELL
In the Falcons' 69-66 loss at Evansville (Dec. 6), freshman Rodrick Caldwell scored a career-high 10 points. The Dayton, Ohio native nearly single-handedly brought BGSU back into the game. With less than a minute remaining, he hit a three-pointer to pull the Falcons within three points with 59 seconds left. Evansville later took a four-point lead, but Caldwell drew a foul while attempting another three-ball, and went on to make 2-of-3 free throws with nine seconds left to narrow the deficit to two points. Caldwell's late-game production gave the Falcons an opportunity to tie the game at the buzzer, but sophomore Antwon Lillard's three-point shot rimmed out.

MALIK MAKES THE MOST OF PLAYING TIME
Malik Hluchoweckyj, a sophomore guard from Omaha, Nebraska, has appeared in three of Bowling Green's last four contests. After playing three minutes against Morgan State (Nov. 26), Hluchoweckyj scored his first three points of the season against Notre Dame College on Nov. 29. He converted on 1-of-2 free throws, and then scored a layup on a fast break off a nice dish from Rodrick Caldwell. After playing in eight games last season, the sophomore has already made four appearances, as he also got a run in BGSU's games at Oakland (Nov. 11) and Cincinnati (Dec. 4).

GOOD FOR GOOD
Freshman guard Ethan Good played the final three minutes of Bowling Green's win over Morgan State (Nov. 26), marking the first three minutes of his collegiate career. The walk-on from Wapakoneta, Ohio registered his first-career assist, and then scored his first-career point by converting on 1-of-2 free throw attempts. Good, who also played two minutes and launched a pair of three-point bombs in BG's most-recent game versus Notre Dame College (Nov. 29), also made an appearance in Bowling Green's game at Cincinnati (Dec. 4).

UJU COMES THROUGH IN DIVISION I DEBUT
Junior Jeffrey Uju has never given up, clearly, on his goal to play Division I men's basketball. Uju played his first two seasons of college basketball in the JUCO circuit, and at two different schools, nonetheless. After playing the 2014-15 season at Eastern Wyoming College and the 2015-16 season at Western Texas College, Uju played his first Division I game on Nov. 11 in BGSU's season opener at Oakland. In 17 minutes, the junior hauled in a team-high seven rebounds, and scored five points on a perfect 2-for-2 night from the floor. Uju also connected on his only three-point attempt, which trimmed a 10-point deficit to single digits in the second half. Uju was leading the team in rebounds at 5.0 per game through the first two games of the season, but has been sidelined ever since with a lower-body injury.

FALCONS REGISTER WIN NO. 50 AT THE STROH CENTER
Bowling Green's 90-58 win over Morgan State (Nov. 26) marked the program's 50th victory at the Stroh Center. The Falcons now own an overall record of 51-33 at the Stroh Center, which opened for the 2011-12 season. The Orange and Brown have won 11-plus games in three seasons at the Stroh, as BGSU went 12-4 in the facility's inaugural season, prior to finishing 11-5 in 2012-13, and 11-6 in 2014-15.

YEAR TWO OF THE MICHAEL HUGER ERA
After guiding the Falcons to a 16-18 record last season, head coach Michael Huger has begun his second season at the helm of his alma mater. Huger has brought some needed stability to the program, as the 2016-17 season will mark the first time that the Falcons will have a head coach for back-to-back seasons since 2013-14. The former Falcon guard will look to build off an exciting run at last year's MAC Tournament. The Orange and Brown defeated both Kent State and Central Michigan, two team's that beat BGSU twice during the regular season, to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2009.

FALCONS RETURN YOUNG CORE FOR 2016-17
Bowling Green returns a large portion of last year's team that reached the conference tournament semifinals. Michael Huger has built a strong, and young foundation that will look to continue to improve. Last season, three freshmen – Antwon Lillard, Demajeo Wiggins and Rasheed Worrell – combined to make 38 starts. Additionally, eight of Bowling Green's 13 man roster are underclassmen, and BGSU returns five of last season's top six leading scorers. BGSU returns its top five field goal percentage shooters, as well as its leaders in assists (Ali), blocks (Worrell) and steals (Denny) from a season ago. Furthermore, the Orange and Brown return 74.3 percent of its rebounding and 72.4 percentage of its made three-point field goals from the 2015-16 season.

FALCONS INK FOUR DURING EARLY SIGNING PERIOD
On the eve of the college basketball season (Nov. 10), Bowling Green announced the signing of four future student-athletes to National Letters of Intent. Nelly Cummings (Midland, Pa. / Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School), Joniya Gadson (Fort Lauderdale, Fla. / Dillard High School), Derek Koch (West Salem, Ohio / Northwestern High School) and Daeqwon Plowden (Philadelphia, Pa. / Mastery Charter North School) are set to join the program for the 2017-18 season. More information can be found at BGSUFalcons.com.

#BGinItaly
Due largely in part to Bill Frack's extreme generosity, financial commitment and unwavering support towards the men's basketball program, the team went on an 11-day cultural immersion tour in Italy from Aug. 8-18. The program spent days in Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan and Lake Como, and saw some of the most famous landmarks in Italian history. The Falcons traveled to The Vatican, spent time inside the Roman Colosseum, visited the Ferrari Museum and saw the famous gondolas in Venice, among many other stops, which include Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. The Orange and Brown also played four games, and accumulated a 3-1 record while playing professional and national competition.

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Wes Alcegaire

Ismail Ali

Rodrick Caldwell

Zack Denny

Matt Fox

Dylan Frye

Ethan Good

Malik Hluchoweckyj

Antwon Lillard

Spencer Parker

Jeffrey Uju

Demajeo Wiggins

Rasheed Worrell

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