They were battered and bruised, and subsequently beaten. At 2-4, and following a tough stretch of three road games at Northwestern, Michigan and Alabama, the BG basketball team was looking for anything at all to turn their season around from an injury-plagued struggle to a promising campaign.

Enter Christmas break.

The team you thought you knew before you left is no more. Now, at 8-4 and leading the Mid-American Conference with a 4-0 conference mark, BG is riding high, especially after a comeback 78-74 win at nemesis Kent State Saturday.

Here’s how the turnaround happened:

The six-game winner almost didn’t begin on Dec. 19, as a 19-point BG halftime lead nearly evaporated against Oakland. BG, up 43-24 at halftime, watched Oakland’s Mike Helms pour in 31 points for the game, and used five late free throws to seal the deal. The Falcons then dumped Urbana 76-48, setting up a showdown at the Gund with Cleveland State in the first half of the Rock-n-Roll Shootout. Forward John Reimold’s 24 points and Ron Lewis’ 20 led the Falcons to an 80-72 win, their third straight. BG iced the Vikings with clutch foul shooting, hitting 29-34 for the game.

Three key conference games followed, with Northern Illinois up first on the road. The teams were close throughout the game, and the Huskies missed one of two free throws with a minute to play to keep NIU’s lead at just one. Then, Cory Ryan found Cory Eyink for a layup with just seven seconds left for the one-point Falcon lead.

Another bitter rival was next, as a Ball State team that had lost four straight entered Anderson Arena. The Cardinals had ended BG’s winning streak last winter, but BG avenged that loss with a 69-57 win in the MAC Tournament semifinals in March. BSU’s Chris Williams, who had scored 48 points against Akron in the Cardinals’ previous game, was held to three points in the first half as BG built their lead. Williams finished with 26, and his team made a late charge, but Kevin Netter’s 17 points helped BG hold on for a 61-57 win.

BG coach Dan Dakich said that the quick start is better than losing, but his team still has a long way to go.

“No matter if good things happen to you, or bad things happen to you, let’s just make sure we continue to bust our butt and see where we are at the end of the year,” Dakich said. “I’m well aware of our position in the league. I just know that a year ago, but no one knew who was in first place on the 12th or 13th of January.”

Then came the biggie, as BG entered Kent State’s MAC Center with a chip on their shoulder. Kent had beaten the Falcons six straight times, and had won their previous 17 conference games and their previous 17 home games. The Flashes took a 24-point halftime lead, and extended that to 24, but BG turned up their defense and made a late run. Reimold scored 23 in the game, and hit a three with two minutes to go to pull his team within one.

Four straight BG free throws put them ahead by three at 75-72, a lead they would not relinquish.

“The only thing this start does is guarantee us we can’t lose 15 games in the league,” Dakich said. “We may lose 14, but we’re not going to lose 15. This doesn’t guarantee we’re going to play good next time. I see it all the time, you get a big win, and you get a while to sit on it. Our players have enough people telling they had a great game; let’s move onto the next game.”