Scott Thomas may have led the Falcons offensively with 15 points against an overmatched Wayne State team Saturday afternoon, but it was Otis Polk who stole the show.
The senior center made 7-of-8 shots for 14 points and grabbed six rebounds in a season-opening 67-45 win against the Warriors at Anderson Arena, giving the Falcons victories in 18 straight home openers.
‘My biggest thing is do what I can do to help my team win,’ Polk said. ‘If my team needs me to score points, that’s what I’ll do. If they need me to play defense and rebound, that’s what I’m going to do.’
Six of his points came on slam dunks, including a highlight-reel, one-handed jam, as Polk played with more passion than he did last season. That happened because Polk is in much better shape this season.
‘Otis has improved tremendously out there,’ said WSU coach David Greer. ‘He’s in great shape. He’s going to be a force out there.’
Greer and his squad got a first-hand look at Polk last season during an 80-48 Falcon win. In that game, Polk scored eight points, half coming off free throws.
While only credited with two assists, Polk was a big factor in the team’s ability to play inside-out basketball, something any team with three prominent big men has to do.
‘We play inside-out,’ said BG coach Louis Orr. ‘If the post guys make plays, then the perimeter guys just play H-O-R-S-E. They spot-up and play H-O-R-S-E.’
And that they did, making 7-of-16 three-pointers, including a 4-of-5 effort from Thomas and two from sophomore Dee Brown.
But as well as the team played offensively, it played equally as well defensively, employing zone coverage after Wayne State showed they could score on man-to-man coverage.
Greer – a former BG player – said his team hadn’t practiced much zone this season.
‘Against any zone, you have to get the ball inside,’ Greer said. ‘But Bowling Green is pretty long out there. They really neutralized us with the zone.’
The Warriors were able to keep the game close for the first 12 minutes, before BG closed out the first half on a 15-6 run.
After a timeout with 5:40 left in the first half, during which Orr emphasized to his players that zone coverage was needed, the Falcons outscored WSU 13-0 until halftime.
‘When we had to make our run at the end of the first half, our defense was the difference,’ Orr said.
By game’s end, the Falcons only forced 16 turnovers, but they held the Warriors to a 17-for-47 (36.2 percent) shooting performance, allowing them to make just one three-pointer, which came very late in the game.
Senior Erik Marschall impressed off the bench with seven points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocks off the bench in 22 minutes, and every player on the team got at least two minutes of playing time.
The Falcons will travel to Xavier tomorrow for a 7 p.m. game.
Rings and a banner
The Falcons received their 2008-09 Mid-American Conference regular season championship rings Saturday.
Of the three seniors on that team, only Darryl Clements was on hand for the ring ceremony. Because of that, he received the honor of unveiling the 2009 NIT banner that hangs in the rafters of Anderson Arena.’
