Welcome to Falcon Fodder's coverage of the BG men's basketball team's game against Eastern Michigan coming to you live from The House That Roars. I'll share thoughts, stats, and anything of interest from the game (newest posts are at the top, so refresh frequently). ...
6:35 p.m. -- OK, gotta start working on the game story for The Blade. Hope to have a surprise for you late in the day Sunday, so check in for that. 'Til then, Roll Along!
6:27 p.m. -- “He probably won’t say it, but I think [Mike Dabney] is a guy who thinks he should play more – and maybe he should,” coach Louis Orr said. “Mike practices hard. … He plays on our scout team every day, and he’s tough. What he did today, he does to our guys in practice every day.”
6:17 p.m. -- “My confidence is always high,” Mike Dabney said. “What I did today wasn’t something I didn’t think I could do. I could have played better today, honestly. There were a few loose balls I should have gotten my hands on, and I missed a free throw. If the game’s not perfect, I feel I should have done better.” Now THAT is a tough judge!
6:14 p.m. -- “We should expect that,” Jordon Crawford said of EMU’s pressure in the final minute. “We were up and there’s a minute to go, so we should expect the pressure. We usually do [well] against that pressure in practice. We need to do a better job with our decision-making against the pressure.”
6:09 p.m. -- “We’ve been winning, so you can’t say anything when you win,” Dabney said when asked about not playing recently. “I don’t have a problem if we’re winning; I’ll just be ready and stay focused.”
6:02 p.m. -- When I asked Eastern Michigan coach Charles Ramsey about Mike Dabney, Ramsey said, “That was the first time I had ever seen him – he wasn’t even on our scouting report. I turned to my assistant coach and said, ‘Who is this guy?’ The coach said, ‘I haven’t seen him.’ ”
5:21 p.m. -- And let's give a shout to the strong effort by EMU's Brandon Bowdry. He finished with 24 points, 15 rebounds, two assists and two steals. Jay Higgins backed up Bowdry with 15 points, but only three in the second half.
5:18 p.m. -- A few other stats ... The BG bench posted 42 points (or 61.8 percent of the scoring total), 23 rebounds (67.6 percent of the total), 11 assists (68.8 percent) and four steals (57.1 percent).
5:13 p.m. -- Final stats ... BG was 26-for-51 from the field (51.0 percent), including 5-for-14 on 3-pointers (35.7 percent). ... EMU was 20-for-51 from the field (39.2 percent), including 9-for-22 on 3-pointers (40.9 percent). ... BG got 16 points from Scott Thomas (along with four rebounds), while Jordon Crawford had 14 points (and seven assists) and Dee Brown finished with 11 points. ... Danny McElroy had six points and 11 rebounds, while Mike Dabney had seven points, four rebounds and three blocks in 15 second-half minutes.
4:59 p.m. -- OK, I think I've challenged my computer enough for now. I'm going to go silent here on the blog for 45 minutes or so ... but check back for post-game quotes and other notes of interest. As I write this, there are 22.9 seconds left and BG leads EMU 67-60. Talk to you in a little bit!
4:54 p.m. -- There's 44.9 seconds left in the 2nd half, and BG leads 66-58 while shooting free throws. With the way BG has struggled from this line, this isn't in the bag. But it's getting close.
4:47 p.m. -- Well, critical call just made before the timeout with 3:49 left. A 3-pointer by EMU was hung up above the rim when Scott Thomas and an EMU player went up for the potential rebound. Sure looked like it was the EMU player with his hand in the twine as the ball was redirected in. That was the original call by the refs, who then reversed it. BG 62, EMU 56. We'll see if those three points show up at the end.
4:41 p.m. -- Let's give the gold star today to Mike Dabney ... He's set career highs for a MAC game with his seven points, one rebound and three blocked shots. How do I know they're career highs? This is the first MAC game he has played in this season. He's struggling to corral Bowdry at this point, but so far everyone -- in the league, for that matter -- has struggled against Bowdry.
4:28 p.m. -- The Falcons are being exploited in the low-block by Bowdry. Oglesby has four fouls, Calhoun has three fouls and Bowdry now has 13 points. The EMU offense is to pass around the zone until it can get the ball to Bowdry and let him create something ... either a drive to the basket, a dish to an open man on the perimeter, or a foul. Someone needs to step up and stop Bowdry.
4:14 p.m. -- BG doing a nice defensive job early on Bowdry. They are making it hard on Bowdry to get the ball, then double-teaming when he receives it. And give special kudos to Mike Dabney ... with Oglesby and Calhoun on the bench with 3 fouls, Dabney is giving Bowdry fits.
4:11 p.m. -- As Grant Cummins astutely points out, it's just a "throw-back" game for the scoreboard at THTRs ... or, to be more precise, we focus on the "end zone" scoreboards, just like we used to. I've been schooled!
3:56 p.m. -- In the first half BG has made 12-of-24 of its shots from the field (50 percent), including 4-of-10 3-pointers (40 percent). ... EMU is 10-for-25 from the field (40 percent), including a smokin' hot 7-for-10 on 3-pointers (70 percent). ... EMU is outrebounding the Falcons 16-12 (Bowdry leads the Eagles with 5; Danny McElroy and Torian Oglesby each have 3 to top the Falcons). ... EMU has 6 turnovers, while BG has 5.
3:52 p.m. -- A few stats from THTRs ... scoring leaders for BG are Jordon Crawford, who came off the bench to go 5-for-5 from the field, including 2-for-2 on 3-pointers, to score 12 points. Scott Thomas has seven, and Dee Brown has 5. ... Eastern Michigan is led by Jay Higgins, who is 4-for-5 on 3-pointers and has 12 points, while Brandon Bowdry has 6 points and 5 rebounds and Jay Sims also has 6 points.
3:50 p.m. -- Halftime at THTRs, and even though the scoreboard isn't working, I have "insider information" telling me that the score is 34-31 BG. A few stats in a moment ...
3:26 p.m. -- Man, I love being right. The refs just put 19 seconds on the shot clock.
3:24 p.m. -- Just guessing -- and just want to look smart -- but there's a delay after the Scott Thomas steal where Thomas was ruled to be out of bounds. The officials went to the scorer's table, and I'm guessing that they aren't going to give EMU a full shot clock.
3:33 p.m. -- BG may be facing a tough philosophical decision shortly. EMU has just killed it against BG's zone defense -- the Eagles are 5-for-6 on 3-pointers, they are getting really good looks and even getting offensive rebounds the few times they don't make a shot. At what point does BG ditch the zone? Or do they at least switch zones?
3:21 p.m. -- Bad start for Anderson Arena ... the scoreboard clock at center court is out. Luckily, the time clock above the shot clocks on both backboards are active, but there is no way to know the score unless you're keeping track yourself. Or you're sitting next to a stats monitor. Thanks, Jason Knavel.
3:13 p.m. -- Bad start for the Falcons ... EMU is clinically dissecting the Falcons' zone, while BG is struggling to score, even when it has fast break opportunities. The Eagles have scored on five their first six possessions and BG calls a timeout with 16:42 left and EMU leading 12-2.
3:07 p.m. -- Before I forget to mention it, the Falcons are rockin' the "BGU" throwback jerseys for a third consecutive home game. BG is 2-0 in these jerseys ... can it improve that mark to 3-0? We'll find out in a moment -- it's time to tip it off.
3:03 p.m. -- I'm sure someone will complain about the slow presentation of the colors before the game, but I thought it was pretty cool.
2:57 p.m. -- The Eagles have changed their starting lineup ... guards are Derek Thompson and J.R. Sims at guard (normally Darrell Lampley starts at guard instead of Sims), center is Jamell Harris, and the forwards are Brandon Bowdry and Jay Higgins. Roughly three minutes away from anthem, lineups and then tip.
2:55 p.m. -- Starting lineup for the Falcons: Scott Thomas and A'uston Calhoun at forward, Torian Oglesby at center, and Luke Kraus and Joe Jakubowski at guard. The lineup the Falcons have used recently. EMU in a moment ...
2:48 p.m. -- Trying to follow Eastern Michigan is a curious thing. After the Ypsilanti Press folded 15 years ago (am I right about the date? I know they have folded), and the Ann Arbor News closed its doors a short time ago, there aren't any newspaper people who cover the Eagles. As Internet followers, what do you folks think about that? Is web coverage enough? Seriously, I'd love to hear your thoughts -- either e-mail me or click on the "comments" tag below and let me know.
2:41 p.m. -- Eating and typing, so if I leave some sauce on this note. ... The BG coaches are wearing sneakers with their suits for cancer awareness. It's the annual Coaches vs. Cancer event, and kudos to the coaches for their involvement. Let's hope we can find a cure, and soon. Man, talking about cancer puts a basketball game in perspective, eh?
2:32 p.m. -- OK, friends, I won't make any promises today. Technology and I are at war. But I'm finally up and running, so we'll see how this plays. Pizza, then back in a moment.
