Bowling Green's tournament future looks promising
By Zach Swartz, Staff Writer
March 5, 2007 | 12:36 p.m.
Because this year's Mid-American Conference Tournament is the first that will host all 12 teams from the conference, there is no doubt that the Bowling Green Falcons are in a favorable position.
The Falcons began the regular season winning 11 of their first 15 games, including their first MAC game against Buffalo. However, after their first conference loss to the Ohio Bobcats (who the Falcons play in the first round of the tournament on Wednesday) in Athens, a downhill tumble began for the rest of the year.
Bowling Green won just two more MAC games before finishing the season 18-12 overall and 3-13 in MAC play, landing them nothing more than the last seed in the conference tournament. What the record does not show, however, is the effort that the team put forth till season's end.
During the season, 10 of the Falcons’ 17 losses came by 10 points or fewer, including a one-point loss at Kent State and an overtime loss at Buffalo. Despite his team's less-than-stellar second half of the season, Coach Dan Dakich is not completely dissatisfied with his team's performance this year.
"We made mistakes, [but] we work really hard and continue to grow as a young group," said Dakich, who just completed his tenth season as a Bowling Green head coach. "I'm just really proud of how they've come out and played. There's no quit in them. [They] keep fighting and seem to be excited about the opportunity to go to Cleveland."
Go to Cleveland they will, but in order to play more than one game there, they will need to get past the Bobcats, who handed them a pair of double-digit losses during the regular season. This fact will not faze them, however, as the team plans to take what they learned from those two defeats and use it as a way to improve in their match-up on Wednesday.
"When I look at our side of play [against Ohio], I don't think there's an area remotely good,” Dakich said. “Against a team like Ohio, you have to stay locked in. Ohio is the team to beat. No one has played us better than Ohio."
The Falcons, fresh off a comeback win and a 28-point performance from junior Ryne Hamblet Sunday against Miami, will match up against the physical No. 5 seed Ohio Bobcats (18-12, 9-7 MAC), coming off a 19-point road loss to Buffalo. Although their record may not show it, the Falcons bring some very impressive talent to the table.
Senior guard Martin Samarco leads the MAC in scoring with 19.6 points per game, and he is a frontrunner for the MAC's MVP award. Nate Miller, a sophomore forward, places second on the team with 14.0 points per and also leads the Falcons with 7.6 rebounds per.
Bowling Green will be sure to use these offensive forces to counter Ohio's strong frontcourt of Jerome Tillman and Leon Williams, who combined for 64 points and 44 rebounds against the Falcons in the previous two showdowns. Dakich said he also plans to focus on Ohio guard Stephen King, who stunned the Falcons by going 6-7 from beyond the 3-PT arc in the regular-season games. In order to pull out a victory on Wednesday afternoon, the Falcons will certainly need a stellar performance from Samarco, who, despite scoring 31 points in both previous games, was held to just 25.7% from the field.
"We have to play better," Dakich said.
The No. 12 seed Bowling Green Falcons take on the No. 5 seed Ohio Bobcats Wednesday, March 7 at 3 p.m. at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
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