March 10, 1985, left a bitter taste in the mouth of Bowling Green coach Dan Dakich.

Playing as a senior in his final home game for Indiana, Dakich and the Hoosiers were struck down in the closing minutes by Big Ten Champion Michigan 73-71 in front of the Bloomington crowd.

Dakich doesn’t remember, or at least he doesn’t want to remember that disappointment. The fifth-year head coach said he recollects two things about the game, “getting burnt” by Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Year Gary Grant and thanking his parents over the microphone after the game during his senior salute.

It is indirectly why the Falcons’ 7 p.m. match-up with Buffalo at Anderson Arena means so much to him. Dakich’s four seniors have put the winning tradition back into the BG men’s basketball program over the last four years, accumulating a record of 76-38. Now, he wants to reward his senior class with a memory that was stained during his playing days, walking off the Anderson Arena court one last time as winners.

“I told my seniors that I don’t give a damn about seedings, I don’t give a damn about getting to the NCAA Tournament, I don’t care about Cleveland,” Dakich said. “The only thing I care about is these four seniors walking off that court in their last college game here as winners. These kids deserve to have this joint packed in nothing else as a tribute to the effort they have put forth.”

“I lost my last regular season game and that was an awful feeling for me,” Dakich continued. “I want these kids to know that it is my focus. I want the seniors to understand in my world what they have done is important.”

The Players

The Joker: Brent Klassen is the team’s own version of Chicken Soup for the Soul. He is a proven leader, and he earned the Earl Rupright Team Spirit award. Klassen is also a go-to guy, but his role is not defined by putting up 20 points per game or hitting a game-winning shot. He averages 3.5 points per game and 2.4 rebounds.

Klassen provides the team with an emotional surge, which has been vital to a Falcon team that has lived on scoring runs all season. Very much like former Falcon Anthony Stacey, Klassen’s emotions are obvious on the court and in his play. In a game against Kent State two years ago when Stacey set the scoring record, Klassen got the second biggest ovation of the night, stemming from a one-handed slam he threw down off a rebound. Klassen came running back on defense after the dunk so energized it looked like the 6-foot 8-inch forward was about to explode all over the Anderson Arena floor.

In a game against Marshall earlier this season, Klassen’s offensive spark plug lit up as he set a school record by going eight of eight from the field. After the game, Klassen jokingly said, “Maybe they’ll remember me around here now.”

“Klassen kind of brings the whole group together with personality, wit and humor,” Dakich said.

The Big Man: Somewhere in the mix of the 1990s when tattoos, shaved heads and corn rows became a commonplace image in basketball, Len Matela was off practicing on his game. The team center isn’t known for his intimidating stature. Klassen once jokingly described Matela as big, goofy and hairy.

Matela may not walk onto the court as an intimidating force, but teams soon realize how much damage he can cause. Instead of intimidation, the BG Big Man earns a much harder attribute to obtain, respect.

Coaches around the league have demonstrated their respect for Matela by double and even triple-teaming the Merrillville, Ind. native. He still manages to average 15 points per game. It’s nothing new for Matela. He came on strong in his freshman campaign and hasn’t stopped since.

“I think Matela is going to be a great player,” former Indiana coach Bob Knight said after Matela scored 15 points and grabbed ten rebounds against the Hoosiers during his freshman year.

Knight was right. Matela’s 1,418 points is 14th best in scoring all-time at BG, and he still moving up the list. Matela and McLeod combined as the top scoring duo last season and are on pace to accomplish that mark again, averaging 40.1 points per game. Despite all of his accomplishments, Matela has never earned honors higher than All-MAC honorable mention.

The Constant Worker: The attendance numbers are up a head or two each game due to the fact that a line of NBA scouts has headed to Bowling Green and dissected every part of Keith McLeod’s game to see if he is ready for the NBA. In Saturday’s contest against Akron, a scout for the Memphis Grizzlies sat in the press box at Anderson Arena and jotted down detailed notes. The scout told one BG News reporter that he sees the Falcon guard going in the early second round of the NBA Draft. There is still plenty of season ahead for that to be determined, but it is heart-warming to hear for anyone who believes hard work will get you places.

When McLeod came to BG, it was clear that his raw talent alone helped him excel as a freshman. He averaged 12.4 points per game and was named to the All-Freshman squad. Maybe the greatest attribute behind McLeod is his drive to get better. He gradually improved in his sophomore and junior campaigns.

Then, there was this summer. The 6-foot 2-inch guard spent the off season wearing strength shoes around campus and dribbling a basketball everywhere he went. He added four inches to his vertical and got quicker.

And now he is an NBA prospect not just because of his raw talent, but also the hard work he endured along the way. The Canton native will likely go into the all-time record books as one of the top three with Stacey and Howard Komives. More importantly, he will remain in the minds of the fans, who watched him hit game-winning shot after game-winning shot this season. Don’t forget about his defense, either. Just as important as his shooting ability, McLeod has held many of his opponents to single digits in scoring.

The Showman

At a recent game against Miami in Oxford, a fan got up and shouted to BG point guard Brandon Pardon, “Wright State misses you!” Pardon looked up and smiled for a second before focusing right back in on the game.

One fan once said that Pardon was the closest thing he’s ever seen to “Pistol” Pete Maravich. Some may argue that statement, but like The Pistol, Pardon can do things with the ball that most people have never seen before. Behind-the-back slap passes or incredible no-look passes are attributes fans don’t get to see every game. Pardon somehow manages to pull them off every game, though. No one is still not quite sure how.

As much as Wright State has missed him, Bowling Green has been grateful for making the move his sophomore season. Coaches around the MAC won’t argue that there may not be a better ballhandler and passer in the MAC than Pardon. Only playing three seasons, the Middlepoint native is third all-time in assist and second all-time in three-point field goal percentage. His assist to turnover ratio is an impressive 2.4 to 1.

“I’m not going to tell you that all four of these guys are going to be lifetime buddies, but as a group, they mesh really well,” Dakich said. “It’s not going to be one of those things where I’m going to look back and say, ‘God I wish I knew what I had. I know what I have right now, and I’ve known for a long time.'”