Bracket Buster Saturday is where teams from lesser-known conferences are put on display to help the country distinguish the contenders from the pretenders. If this year’s Bracket Buster game was any indication of where the BG men’s basketball team stands, it’s time to stop playing dress-up.
In front of a crowd of 2,835, the Wright State Raiders (13-12) handed BG a 70-51 loss Saturday, dropping its overall record to a dismal 9-16. The Falcons have now lost six of their last seven games and show no signs of stopping the slide.
The Raiders came out firing, making their first eight attempts from 3-point land. On the other end of the court, the Falcons managed only two baskets in the first 12 minutes of the game and found themselves down 24 points just past the midway point of the first half.
The Falcons never recovered.
“We got beat by a team that played better,” said BG coach Dan Dakich. “We got beat by a team that came out drilling shots, and we got down and I thought actually we were playing pretty good defense but they were drilling shots. At the end of the day, that was a big deal, and that was the difference in the ball game.”
At halftime, only three players from BG had any points, and only Martin Samarco had more than one field goal. Defensively, BG could find no answer for a Wright State team that had four players score in double-digits.
“That was probably the best we’ve shot the basketball all year long,” said Wright State coach Paul Biancardi. “Anytime you make shots it picks up your adrenaline, picks up your passion and then I think we kind of fed off our three-point shooting early.”
BG was never able to get within striking distance despite outscoring Wright State in the second half. This was Wright State’s first win against a Mid-American Conference team in five previous attempts this season.
Dakich and the rest of the BG team are now left to find a solution to their game day problems.
“We’re not getting as much out of individuals as we need to,” Dakich said. “It’s not from lack of effort, it’s not from lack of work, it’s not from lack of commitment; everyone seems to be working really hard but it’s just not getting it done.”
For both players and fans alike, it has become increasingly wearisome that BG continues to struggle in “getting it done” when it counts most. Still, the team remains focused on its objectives.
“We’ve just got to go out, work hard every day, take it step by step and keep building,” Marschall said. “It’s frustrating because we are still going out and working hard.”
