The next time BG’s plays at Anderson Arena won’t be until next year, when they host St. Louis on Jan. 2.
That extended road trip made yesterday’s 59-51 win over Savannah State even more important.
‘I don’t know what our coaches were thinking, but we’ve got a long road trip,’ said junior guard Joe Jakubowski. ‘It’s good to get a couple wins on our belt going into this long road trip.’
While his players might not understand what his thought process was, BG coach Louis Orr is hoping the road trip will help build his team for later in the season.
‘My thing is this, when you get to the point where you look at the court the same as you do at home, 94-feet, 10-foot hoops, you take the challenge of being on the road and let it be a motivation,’ Orr said. ‘The road doesn’t have to be uncomfortable place. I believe it is a part of the process, and we have a great opportunity.’
During that stretch, BG will make trips to Fordham, Canisius, Detroit, Temple and Towson for one of the longest road trips since the turn of the century. The last time BG had nearly a month long road trip was 1982-83 when they were on the road from Dec. 14 to Jan. 12.
Sweet Revenge
The last time BG played Savannah State they led big at halftime, only to see and 21-point lead disappear into a 57-54 loss.
BG’s upperclassmen didn’t let that happen again as Otis Polk, Erik Marschall and Jakubowski combined for 20 of BG’s 31 second half points to preserve the victory.
‘[The coaches] harped on it a lot,’ Jakubowski said. ‘I think we were up by 21 at the half and they came back to beat us. That left a sour taste in our mouth. We wanted to kind of get back at them.’
Claiming the paint
For the second consecutive game BG played against a lineup that was smaller than the Falcons’ in the frontcourt.
At 6-foot-7, 210 pounds, Arnold Louis was the biggest Savannah State player in the game last night. By comparison, Louis is at least one inch shorter and 30 pounds lighter then BG’s three key post players, Marc Larson, Otis Polk and Marschall.
That size advantage allowed BG to score 36 points in the paint and grab 37 rebounds, including 14 on the offensive end.
Fordham fires coach
When BG travels to Fordham tomorrow evening, it will be the first game for interim coach Jarred Grasso.
Grasso took over the team on an interim basis after the school fired Dereck Whittenburg following a 1-4 start.
Whittenburg was in his seventh season at Fordham, having compiled a record of 69-112.
Fordham says they plan to identify coaching candidates immediately, including Grasso.
