As the regular season comes to a close Saturday, the Falcons will have three key players compete in their final regular season game at Anderson Arena.
Seniors John Reimold, Josh Almanson and Cory Eyink have been big-time players in the Falcons’ turnaround this year from a non-factor to a major contender for the Mid-American Conference Tournament Champions.
BG (17-9, 10-7 MAC) stands in second place in the MAC West Division after a crushing 77-52 loss at Western Michigan Wednesday night. Few believed the Falcons would actually be in position to win the West before the year and the solid play from the seniors has had much to do with that.
“If you were going to say ‘who is your most valuable player this year?’, I’d say all three of those [seniors,] because valuable player to me means why are you winning,” said Falcons Head Coach Dan Dakich.
Facing Central Michigan (9-17, 3-14), who the Falcons defeated on Jan. 26 in Mt. Pleasant 77-73, will wrap up what has been an impressive season for the team.
Reimold is second in the league in scoring, averaging 17.6 points, and Almanson is third at 17.4. The duo is also the top two shooters in the MAC, with Almanson hitting 60.1 percent and Reimold 52.0.
Eyink has been a rock off the bench for the Falcons, averaging over 17 minutes a game and over 4 points. He has hit 42 percent on three’s, while providing clutch performances at the end of several key wins.
His pass to Almanson against Miami set up the game-winning shot with six seconds left as the Falcons defeated the top team in the MAC. Though his numbers may not jump out, his contributions have been a key proponent for the team’s success.
“We don’t come close to sitting where we’re at if we don’t have Cory [Eyink],” Dakich said. “Every single game that we have played well, he has been a huge part of.”
The Chippewas have hung around the bottom of the West this year, but are playing to finish strong and possibly shake up the Tournament.
They are led by Kevin Nelson, who moved into first place in scoring after Reimold’s nine-point performance against the Broncos. His 17.7 average has him 0.1 points ahead of Reimold and 0.3 above Almanson.
Nelson did not have his best effort against the Falcons earlier this year when he was held to 14 points and turned the ball over four times.
The game will mark the last time to see the three seniors in action at Anderson and will tip-off at 2 p.m.
