Home is where the wins are? After a 1-2 start to their season, the BGSU men’s basketball team returned home Saturday to crush Urbana 85-50 in the Falcons’ home opener.
The Falcons dominated offensively, holding a commanding 22-2 lead midway through the first half.
At the other end of the court, a stifling Falcon defense frustrated the Blue knights, who played more than ten minutes before scoring their first field goal. That drought was characteristic of the Knights’ offense, as they shot an abysmal 25.5 percent in the game.
“I thought our defense in this game was the difference,” coach Dan Dakich said. “In Urbana’s defense, they were playing shorthanded. They were without two kids that are starters [and] a couple of other kids I think they thought would be eligible. We’re [also] down on guys so it was kind of a game of attrition.”
The team won that game of attrition largely because of their defensive efforts. The Falcon’s have been working on a zone defense that proved effective against Urbana.
“It worked really well. I wanted to use it in this game, but I wanted to use it when we had guys with fouls to see if number one, it would work, and number two, if we would be smart enough to foul. It did, and we were,” Dackich said.
Offensively, junior transfer Martin Samarco continued to be an offensive leader for BG, scoring a career-high 23 points on 9-for-13 shooting, including four out of five from beyond the arc.
“I thought Martin was pretty good,” Dakich said. “Nine of 13 is really what you want. He got good shots. I’m not sure he took a bad one.”
Samarco said the squad entered this game with a must-win mentality and were determined not to be beaten. While he agreed the game was well-played, the team still has room to improve, he said.
“I’m starting to feel comfortable and it was definitely a learning experience because every day I’m trying to get in the gym, get shots and watch film and get better,” Samarco said. “And then my teammates, if I mess up, they’re on me and I just listen – and then try to correct it.”
Samarco’s teammates also had strong offensive performances and didn’t have much to “get on” him about after the game. Erik Marschall and Mawel Soler scored 16 and 14 points respectively, while John Floyd controlled the point.
“I really like the way John Floyd played, although offensively, you wouldn’t know it. I thought Johnny was really good in making sure we came to play today,” Dakich said.
The orange and brown clad “Anderson Animals” were among the 1,035 fans in attendance to cheer on the Falcons. They roared as Nick Wilson drained a three in the final moments of the game to boost the score to 85 and reward the fans with free fries.
After the 35 point blowout, Dakich expressed pride in the team’s ability to do all the things necessary for a win. Dakich is now 9-0 in home openers at Anderson Arena.
“I thought our kids competed and did what they needed to do,” he said. “It didn’t need to be a nip and tuck game. It just needed to be a game where we came out and played the way were capable and took it from there and I thought that’s what happened.”
The squad will continue to work out the early season kinks, but Dakich has already seen improvement in the team’s play since their first three games at Virginia Tech’s NABC Classic.
“We’re going to continue to work on conversion defense and we worked hard on it this week because they do push the ball, but were not able to get it totally organized. I thought our movement to the basketball on defense was way better than our movement to the basketball was at any time in Virginia,” Dakich said.
The Falcons will continue to work on offense and defense in addition to rehabbing the injuries of several team members. BG will return to competition Nov. 30 when they face Oakland University at home.
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