BGSU Hosts Ohio On Nate Thurmond Bobblehead Day Saturday

Saturday, January 28

Bowling Green, OH

4:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Ohio

January 27, 2017 | Men's Basketball

By: by James Nahikian, BGSU Athletic Communications

OPENING TIP
• Bowling Green and Ohio will meet for the 171st time on Saturday. The Falcons own a 77-63 advantage in the all-time series. The Falcons have won four-consecutive games.
• BGSU is 4-2 versus the Bobcats at the Stroh Center. The Falcons won last year's game at home, 87-82, on Feb. 23, 2016.
• In the only other meeting between the two schools last season, BGSU knocked off OU, 91-75, in Athens on Jan. 12, 2016. The victory was BG's first away MAC win of the Huger era.
• The Falcons are 7-4 at home in 2016-17. Bowling Green won six-straight games at the Stroh Center earlier in the year.
• In BGSU's 82-76 loss at Central Michigan on Tuesday, Demajeo Wiggins registered 22 rebounds, which marked the most from a Falcon since Cornelius Cash notched 22 in 1974.
• Demajeo Wiggins has now recorded a double-double in three-straight games. Through seven MAC contests, he's averaging a team-high 13.7 points and 10.4 rebounds.

HUGER'S THOUGHTS ON OHIO
"Our team will take on Ohio on Saturday – a team that is one of the most talented in the league. Despite losing MAC Player of the Year, Antonio Campbell, Ohio is still extremely talented and playing very well. We had two good battles with them last year, and I expect the same this season. In order to win the game, we will need to be able to hit shots and score the ball in the post."

SCOUTING THE OHIO BOBCATS
Recently, senior forward Antonio Campbell, last season's MAC Player of the Year, sustained a season-ending injury. Ohio has lost three of its last four games. Earlier in the week, the Bobcats lost at home to Toledo by a score of 79-76. Freshman Jason Carter has stepped into the starting spot, and has played very well. He scored 20 points last time out, and notched a double-double the game before that at Northern Illinois. Redshirt-junior Jaaron Simmons is one of the top guards in the conference, and is averaging 12.6 points and a MAC-best 7.1 assists. Sophomore guard Jordan Dartis and redshirt-senior Kenny Kaminski are both averaging over 12.0 points per game, while also leading the team in three-point shooting. Dartis is shooting 44.2 percent (53-of-120) from downtown, and Kaminski is shooting 43.8 percent (49-of-112). As a team, Ohio ranks second in the MAC with a 37.6 three-point percentage. The Bobcats make 9.1 triples per contest. Ohio scores 75.2 points per game, and shoots 44.5 percent, while holding opponents to 67.2 points and 41.2 percent from the field. Ohio is 3-4 on the road in 2016-17, but 2-1 on the road within the conference. Third-year head coach Saul Phillips owns a 45-38 record at Ohio.

A BGSU WIN WOULD…
• Improve BGSU's overall record to 9-12
• Move Bowling Green's MAC record to 3-5
• Improve Michael Huger's record against Ohio to 3-0
• Give BG a five-game winning streak over Ohio
• Secure BGSU's sixth win over Ohio in the last seven meetings
• Improve the Falcons' record at the Stroh Center in 2016-17 to 8-4
• Move BGSU to 45-22 all-time versus Ohio in Bowling Green
• Increase BG's all-time series lead to 78-63

WIGGINS RECORDS A HISTORIC 22 REBOUNDS AT CENTRAL MICHIGAN
In Bowling Green's 82-76 loss at Central Michigan on Tuesday (Jan. 24), sophomore Demajeo Wiggins registered 22 rebounds – the most from a Falcon in 43 years. Cornelius Cash, who was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1975 NBA Draft, pulled down 22 rebounds in a 1974 game versus San Diego State. Wiggins notched seven offensive rebounds, and 15 defensive rebounds in the contest. The sophomore's effort played a huge part in the Falcons' racking up a season-high 49 rebounds. Prior to Tuesday night, it had been over two years since a Falcon even had 15 rebounds in a game. Richaun Holmes, who currently plays a Philadelphia 76ers, pulled down 18 rebounds against Detroit Mercy on Nov. 30, 2014. Nate Thurmond and Al Dixon hold the single-game program record with 31 rebounds.

CALDWELL COMPETES WITH KEENE
Freshman Rodrick Caldwell had the best game of his career against Central Michigan on Tuesday (Jan. 24) night. Caldwell finished the game with a career-high 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting. After playing just six minutes in the first half, Caldwell played 15 minutes in the second half and erupted for 17 second-half points. The freshman was matched up with CMU's Marcus Keene, the nation's leading scorer, virtually the entire second half. Over the final 20 minutes, Caldwell held Keene to a 1-for-8 shooting effort, while shooting 7-of-12 from the field himself. Caldwell, a Dayton native, also tied his career high by making three three-pointers. Caldwell has scored in double figures four times in 2016-17. The freshman is averaging 6.1 points, 1.8 assists and 1.8 rebounds this year in 16.9 minutes. He is shooting 34.0 percent (17-of-50) from three-point range.

MORE NOTES ON THE CENTRAL MICHIGAN GAME
• BGSU's 49 rebounds were its most since posting 50 versus Oakland City on Jan. 2, 2016
• The Falcons recorded 79 shot attempts – the most by a BG team since at least the turn of the century
• BG held the nation's highest-scoring starting backcourt to 4-of-21 shooting from three-point range
• Bowling Green outscored Central Michigan in the paint by a 44-34 margin
• Demajeo Wiggins had 11 points and a career-high four assists to go along with his 22 rebounds
• Antwon Lillard posted a balanced final line of seven points, six rebounds and four assists
• Wes Alcegaire scored 16 points, marking the third-straight game he's scored in double figures

FALCONS HOST BOBCATS ON NATE THURMOND BOBBLEHEAD DAY
Bowling Green will honor Falcon legend Nate Thurmond this Saturday (Jan. 28) by handing out Thurmond bobbleheads to the first 400 fans through the doors for the Falcons' game against MAC-East foe Ohio. Thurmond, who passed away in July, was inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985 after an All-American career at BGSU from 1959-63. A seven-time NBA All-Star, Thurmond scored 1,356 points across his career as a Falcon, while leading Bowling Green to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 1962 and 1963. Thurmond averaged 15.0 points and 15.0 rebounds across his 14-year NBA career. He was voted as one of the NBA's 50 greatest players when the league celebrated its 50th anniversary of its founding. Tip time for the game was recently moved to 4 p.m., due to the fact that the game was picked up by Spectrum Sports/BCSN television. Originally, the game was set for a noon tip.

BGSU IN SEARCH OF FIFTH-STRAIGHT WIN OVER OHIO
Although Ohio is one of the MAC's most premier programs, the Falcons have had the Bobcats' number as of late. Bowling Green has won four-straight games over Ohio, which is the program's longest active winning streak within the conference. On game day, it will have been 695 days since Ohio's last beat Bowling Green. Last season, BGSU scored point totals of 87 and 91 against Ohio, which were the most points that the Falcons scored against a Division I opponent across the entire 2015-16 season. Bowling Green's win at home last year over the Bobcats snapped a seven-game losing streak. Ohio last beat Bowling Green on March 4, 2014.

BRINGING DOWN THE BOARDS
In each of the last three games, the Falcons have registered over 40 rebounds. Prior to this current stretch, BGSU didn't have a 40-rebound game since playing Notre Dame College on Nov. 29. Last season, Bowling Green had three 40-rebounding games across the entire MAC season. With 11 games to go, the Falcons have already matched that total. In BG's most-recent game at Central Michigan (Jan. 24), the Falcons pulled down a season-high 49 boards. Prior to that, BG registered 45 rebounds against Ball State (Jan. 21) and 41 rebounds at Toledo (Jan. 17). The Falcons outrounded Ball State, 45-37. In the first meeting of the season on Jan. 7, Ball State outrounding the Falcons by a 47-34 margin.

THE FIRST 20 MINUTES
Playing a strong first half has been crucial to the Falcons' success under head coach Michael Huger. In 2016-17, Bowling Green is 6-1 when leading at the half, and 2-11 when trailing at the half. Since the beginning of the Michael Huger Era in 2015-16, the Falcons are 16-4 after taking a halftime lead, but just 8-25 when heading into the intermission with a deficit. In BGSU's last game, the trend held true, as the Falcons dropped an 82-76 contest at Central Michigan after trailing by 12 points at the half. This season, BG erased a seven-point halftime deficit against Detroit Mercy (Dec. 10), as well as a three-point halftime deficit at Ball State (Jan. 7). The only time BGSU has lost this year when having a halftime lead was against UMKC (Nov. 19). The Falcons led, 37-35, at the half before losing on a shot with less than three seconds left.

LATE LEADS ARE LEADING TO WINS
The Falcons have played in quite a few close games this year, and have lost a large number of them. But when BGSU is able to earn a late lead, it almost always leads to a win. When BG has a lead with five minutes left, the Falcons are 8-3. Since head coach Michael Huger arrived for the 2015-16 season, BG is 21-5 in those situations. Furthermore, when BGSU has a lead with two minutes left, they are 7-1 in 2016-17, and 21-2 in the Huger era. On the flip side, BGSU is 3-25 under Huger when trailing at the five-minute mark, including a 0-9 record this year. When the Orange and Brown is looking at a deficit with two minutes remaining, BG is 1-11 in 2016-17, and 3-28 under Huger's watch.

BGSU STILL HASN'T FACED A ROAD OPPONENT WITH A LOSING RECORD
The Falcons are 1-8 on the road in 2016-17. Although six of those losses have been by single digits, and five of them have been by two possessions or fewer, the Falcons' opponents deserve a large amount of the credit for BGSU's struggles away from home. Bowling Green has played nine really difficult road games. In fact, at the time of the game, all nine teams had a winning record, with the exception of Oakland, which was 0-0. The nine opponents – Oakland (15-6), South Dakota (14-9), Cincinnati (17-2), Evansville (10-12), San Jose State (9-10) Akron (17-3), Ball State (13-7), Toledo (11-9), and Central Michigan (13-7) – have a combined record of 119-65 (.647). Bowling Green's next road opponent – Kent State (11-9) – has a winning record, as well. Incredibly, the Falcons, most likely, won't play a team on the road with a losing record until Feb. 14, which will be 95 days into the season. On Feb. 14, the Falcons will travel to Kalamazoo to take on Western Michigan.

BGSU COMPLETES SEASON SWEEP OF BALL STATE
Bowling Green snapped a three-game losing streak last Saturday (Jan. 21) by earning a 79-74 victory over Ball State at the Stroh Center. On Jan. 7, the Falcons picked up their first road win and first MAC win of the 2016-17 season by knocking off the Cardinals in Muncie, 76-71. In the most-recent meeting, Demajeo Wiggins recorded his fifth double-double of the season, as he scored 14 points and registered a career-high 14 rebounds. Zack Denny led the Falcons in scoring with 17 points. With BGSU up by just three points with less than 10 seconds left, Matt Fox stole BSU's inbounds pass, and recorded an assist on Ismail Ali's game-sealing layup. In the first meeting of the season, Bowling Green also led by three points with under 10 seconds left, but in that game, the Falcons forced a miss and secured the rebound. Ball State ranks third in the MAC in three-point percentage (37.0), but combined, the BGSU defense held the Cardinals to a 12-for-50 (24.0 percent) shooting effort from three-point range.

ALL FIVE FALCON STARTERS SCORE IN DOUBLE DIGITS IN MAC OPENER
Bowling Green played a heck of a road game at Akron on Jan. 3. BGSU shot a season-high 54.1 percent from the field, and twice narrowed double-digit deficits to a single possession. Furthermore, all five of BGSU's starters – Demajeo Wiggins (21), Ismail Ali (16), Zack Denny (16), Antwon Lillard (16) and Wes Alcegaire (10) – scored in double figures, marking the first time that has happened since Dec. 15, 2013. For Wiggins, his point total established a new career high, while Ali's 16 points was a season high. But in the end, Akron, which is now atop the MAC standings with a 7-0 mark, escaped with an 89-84 victory. The Zips shot 56.6 percent from the floor and a ridiculous 45.5 percent from downtown on 22 three-point attempts.

BREAKING DOWN THE SIX FINAL-MINUTE LOSSES
In BGSU's most-recent game at Central Michigan, the Falcons lost a hardly-fought and tightly-contested game for the seventh time in 2016-17. Bowling Green has now lost seven games by single digits, three games by one possession, three games by two possessions, including two games on a shot with less than three seconds left. Prior to the Eastern Michigan (Jan. 10) game, Bowling Green had lost its last three games by a combined nine points.

DEMAJEO'S DOUBLE-DOUBLES AND CONFERENCE DOMINANCE
Sophomore forward Demajeo Wiggins, for the first time in his career, has registered a double-double in three-consecutive ballgames. Over the current three-game stretch, Wiggins is averaging a silly 14.0 points and 15.7 rebounds. He's been nothing short of completely dominant. Wiggins recorded a historic 22 rebounds last time out at Central Michigan (Jan. 28), which was the highest total from a Falcon in 43 years. He also added 11 points and a career-high four assists. He's set career highs for rebounds in each of the last two games, as he posted 14 points and 14 rebounds in a win over Ball State (Jan. 24). The Toledo native started his double-double streak by recording 17 points and 11 rebounds at Toledo (Jan. 17). Wiggins now has six double-doubles on the season. To put that into perspective, in 2015-16, he had just four double-digit scoring nights, and one double-digit rebound game. Wiggins has been a force through seven conference games, as he's averaging a double-double with 13.7 points and 10.4 rebounds per contest. He also leads the team in MAC play with a 55.7 (39-of-70) field goal percentage. In the MAC opener, he recorded a de facto double-double, as he scored a career-high 21 points while adding eight rebounds. After averaging 4.6 points and 4.4 rebounds as a freshman in 2015-16, he's averaging 10.9 and 8.5 this season, respectively. Below is a breakdown of Wiggins' six double-doubles in 2016-17.

WIGGINS CONTINUES TO "BEAT THE RIM"
Heading into the offseason, free throw shooting was a huge focus for sophomore forward Demajeo Wiggins. Michael Huger tried to get Wiggins to narrow his focus, and reminded the sophomore that the only obstacle in his way was the rim. Huger constantly told his player to "beat the rim." This season, thanks in part to the guidance of assistant Mike Summey, who has worked most-closely with him throughout the process, Wiggins is experiencing one of the biggest turnarounds from the free throw line in college basketball history. After shooting 37.9 percent (22-of-58) in 2015-16, the Toledo native is, incredibly, up to 67.3 percent (70-of-104) in 2016-17. He's made eight-plus free throws in three games this year. Wiggins has already made 48 more free throws than he did last year, and has earned 46 more free throw attempts than he did in 2015-16. With 10 more makes, he will equal his number of total attempts from last year. He leads the team in makes (70) and attempts (104) in 2016-17.

FRYE ENTERS THE STARTING LINEUP
Freshman Dylan Frye, who, heading into last Saturday's (Jan. 21) game versus Ball State, was averaging 10.0 points and shooting over 50.0 percent from the field over the previous nine games, made his third-career start in BG's most-recent game at Central Michigan (Jan. 28). He's started the Falcons' last two games. Outside of the season opener, BGSU had played with the same starting five of Ismail Ali, Zack Denny, Antwon Lillard, Wes Alcegaire and Demajeo Wiggins in every game this season up until the Ball State game on Jan. 24. Frye replaced Lillard in the starting five, and the switch has netted some positive results. In the game against Ball State, Frye recorded a career-high five rebounds, and did a nice job of pushing the pace. Lillard, on the other hand, has provided solid energy off the bench. After posting six points, four rebounds and two assists against Ball State, Lillard registered seven points, six rebounds and four assists against the Chippewas. In the last three games that he started before the lineup change, Lillard combined for eight points, seven rebounds and four assists.

FRYE'S FANTASTIC FRESHMAN SEASON
Prior to earning the second start of his career in BG's most-recent win against Ball State (Jan. 21), freshman Dylan Frye was leading the Falcon bench in both minutes and points. Frye has now made two-straight starts, and on the season, is averaging 7.2 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists, while shooting 43.1 percent (53-of-123) from the field. Frye, who is averaging 21.0 minutes per ballgame, has been an absolutely lethal three-point shooter, as well. His 42.1 percentage (24-of-57) from deep ranks eighth in the MAC, and he's made multiple three-balls in six games this season, including four games with at least three triples. The Pembroke Pines, Florida native has made at least one three-pointer in 12 of the last 16 games. Frye has scored in double figures six times this season, and he's not missed a free throw since Nov. 26, 2016, which has allowed him to increase his average up to 73.7 percent. Frye has shot at least 50.0 percent from the field in nine ballgames in 2016-17.

DENNY JOINS BGSU'S THREE-POINT FRATERNITY
Senior guard Zack Denny went 2-for-3 from downtown versus Eastern Michigan (Jan. 10) to move into 10th place all-time on the program's three-point field goals list. He entered the game tied with Jordon Crawford (2009-13) at 122 career triples, but he hit his first attempt from deep to break the tie and move into 10th place. Denny also went 2-for-3 from deep in the Falcons' most-recent win versus Ball State (Jan. 21). He's now made 127 three-point field goals. The Germantown, Ohio native, who has made at least one three-pointer in 15 of BGSU's last 17 games, is shooting 36.0 percent from downtown for his career. With just five more triples, he can move up to seventh place all-time.

DOUBLE-DIGIT SCORING NIGHTS HAVE DENNY NEARING 1,000 CAREER POINTS
For the 48th time in his career, senior Zack Denny scored in double figures in BGSU's most-win against Ball State (Jan. 21). The senior tied his season high with 17 points in the winning effort. Denny has scored in double figures a team-best 16 times in 2016-17. The Germantown, Ohio native is now just 79 points shy of becoming the 44th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. Denny has increased his scoring output in each of his four seasons as a Falcon. He's averaging a team-high 12.3 points in 2016-17 after scoring 10.6 points as a junior, 9.2 points as a sophomore, and 3.3 points as a freshman. Along with fellow senior Wes Alcegaire and sophomore Demajeo Wiggins, Denny is one of three Falcons averaging double digits this season. The senior is averaging 12.7 points and 5.6 rebounds in seven MAC games – both of which rank second on the team.

ALCEGAIRE RESPONDS TO TOUGH SCORING STRETCH
Senior forward Wes Alcegaire has scored 10-plus points in three-straight games. Over the mini three-game stretch, he's averaging 13.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists. Prior to this three-game run, Alcegaire had been limited to less than 10 points in three-straight contests. He broke that skid at Toledo (Jan. 17) by scoring 14 points and pulling down a season-high seven rebounds. The Miami native then scored 10 points in a win over Ball State (Jan. 21), before totaling 16 points, four rebounds and two assists at Central Michigan (Jan. 28) most recently. The Miami native ranks second on the team in scoring, averaging a career-high 12.0 points per game. He's also made a team-high 30 three-point field goals. Alcegaire, who already has seven more assists (28) than he did all of last season, has shot at least 50.0 percent in nine games in 2016-17.

ALI MAKING THE MOST OF HIS LAST MAC SEASON
After averaging 5.4 points, 3.8 assists and 2.1 rebounds in his first season in BG in 2015-16, senior guard Ismail Ali is up to 6.7 points, 4.8 assists and 2.5 rebounds. His 4.8 assists per game average ranks fourth in the MAC. Ali also ranks first in the conference with a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio. The senior has played his best basketball within the MAC. Ali notched 13 points, a season-high five rebounds, two assists and two steals last Saturday (Jan. 21) against Ball State. Prior to that, in a game at Toledo (Jan. 17), he stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, eight assists, five rebounds, two blocks and one steal. In two other MAC games, Ali tied his season high in points with 16. In Bowling Green's conference opener at Akron (Jan. 3), Ali went 6-for-9 from the field, and posted 16 points, five steals, five assists and four rebounds. In a loss to Northern Illinois (Jan. 14), Ali scored 16 points again, while also racking up six assists, two steals and two rebounds. He converted on seven field goals (7-for-11) in the NIU contest, which marked a season high. Ali has scored in double digits six times this season, and in each of those games, he's also added five assists or five rebounds.

ALI RANKED FIRST IN THE MAC IN ASSIST-TO-TURNOVER RATIO
Heading into Saturday afternoon's game versus Ohio (Jan. 28), senior guard Ismail Ali sits first in the Mid-American Conference with a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio. Ali has 91 assists compared to 42 turnovers. Last season, Ali finished with a 1.8 ratio after racking up 130 assists and committing 73 turnovers. Additionally, the senior sits fourth in the MAC in assists per game with 4.8. He's had 12 games with at least five assists, including nine games with at least six assists. Ali has had a pair of seven-assist games at San Jose State (Dec. 18) and versus Morgan State (Nov. 26), an eight-assist night at Toledo (Jan. 17), while also dishing out a season-high nine assists on Nov. 29 in a win over Notre Dame College.

FOX IS FILLING IT UP FROM DEEP
Junior guard Matt Fox, who was put on scholarship just hours before BGSU's win over Murray State (Nov. 21), continues to shoot the three-ball at a high clip. Fox has hit a three-ball in 12 of Bowling Green's last 16 games. Over that 16-game stretch, Fox is 18-for-40 (45.0 percent) from downtown. In the Falcons' last home game against Ball State (Jan. 21), the Maumee, Ohio native hit at least two triples for the fifth time this season, as he went 2-for-3 and finished the game with eight points and four rebounds. Fox has also had a 4-for-7 game from three-point land versus Morgan State (Nov. 26). Fox ranks 12th in the MAC in three-point percentage at 40.0 percent.

LILLARD LIGHTS IT UP ACROSS OPENING WEEK IN THE MAC
Sophomore guard Antwon Lillard started the MAC schedule with a pair of big games. He shot 5-for-7 from the field and scored 16 points at Akron (Jan. 3). In Bowling Green's first MAC win of the season at Ball State (Jan. 7), Lillard carried the Falcons down the stretch and finished with a game-high 19 points, which tied his season high. He also chipped in with eight rebounds and three assists.

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 55-35 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. BGSU owns a .611 winning percentage at the Stroh Center. BGSU has won seven games at the Stroh Center this season, which ties last season's total.

YEAR TWO OF THE MICHAEL HUGER ERA
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 marks the first time that the Falcons will have a head coach in consecutive seasons since 2013-14. The former Falcon guard will look to build off an exciting run at last year's MAC Tournament. BG defeated both Kent State and Central Michigan to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2009.