Trailing by 12 points with less than 10 minutes to play in the game, the Falcons stormed back to tie Furman late but couldn’t finish the comeback as they lost 63-59 yesterday afternoon.

“We got beat by a team that I think is really good,” said BG coach Dan Dakich. “They stayed poised, and at the end of the day, they were able to beat us.”

BG was done in by a slow offensive start, scoring just 20 points in the first half. The lack of early production put the Falcons at a nine-point disadvantage at the break, one that the team would never be able to fully recover from.

Of BG’s 59 total points, 49 were scored by just three different players – Martin Samarco (27), Erik Marschall (14) and Matt Lefeld (8). In the first half, the trio was responsible for all 20 of BG’s points.

In the second half, the Falcons continued to struggle, especially on defense. Quick, veteran Furman guards forced BG into picking up 10 team fouls in the first seven minutes of the half. The Falcons fell behind 49-37, but soon found their rhythm on both ends of the court.

“As a team I think we’re never going to give up – we’re going to keep fighting and we’re not going to go away,” Marschall said.

Fueled by a 10-point run late in the second half, the Falcons pulled the game to within two. Marschall would later tie the game on a follow from a Samarco miss, giving the BG as many points as Furman for the first time in the game.

With 8.6 seconds on the clock and Furman leading by three, the crowd in Anderson Arena watched in anticipation as Samarco’s lay-in attempt after being fouled danced on the rim, eventually falling through, giving BG a chance at a three-point play and tying the game.

Unfortunately for the Falcons, the free throw from Samarco clanked short off the rim, and BG was never able to score again.

“To give up 60 points, I can’t really fault our defense a lot,” Dakich said. “I think our offense doesn’t play with a sense of desperation.”

The loss drops the Falcons to 1-3 on the year, but BG will have a chance to improve on this record with four more home games in a row against non-conference opponents.

“We’re going to try and take every positive from this loss, come back, get in the gym this week and get ready for South Alabama next week,” Marschall said.