The Bowling Green men’s basketball team is flying high after defeating Arkansas State 81-75 Saturday afternoon, moving to 2-0 under head coach Todd Simon and marking the first time the Falcons have started their schedule with two straight wins in back-to-back seasons since the 1983-1984 and 1984-1985 seasons.  

While there have been many contributors throughout the first two games for BG, one stands out: junior guard Marcus Hill.  

Hill has led the Falcons in scoring in both games, finishing with 18 points on 7-14 shooting from the field against Chicago State and 26 points on 9-17 shooting from the field against Arkansas State.  

Hill, who led the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) in points scored last season with 780, has a knack for finding the bottom of the net. 

“I mean, he’s so strong, you can’t take the ball from him. He’s explosive and got a quick first step. He’s just got a knack for scoring; he led NJCAA Division 1 in scoring last year. But he’s not selfish, that’s the irony of it,” Simon said. “I sometimes remind him to go score, and that’s the fun part about coaching him is he’s not one you really need to scale back. It’s always trying to fire him up, and he loves to respond to that, which makes it the best.”  

Along with leading the Orange and Brown in scoring, Hill has played more than any other Falcon this season, leading the team in minutes played in both games.  

He logged 27 and 38 minutes of playing time against the Cougars and Red Wolves, respectively.  

“I like to let our guys rock. When they’re going, they’re going, and I don’t want to take them off the floor,” Simon said. “It’s important; you want your best players on the floor as much as you can every game.”  

Hill was instrumental in the BG’s victory over Arkansas State, hitting several free throws down the stretch to secure the win for the Falcons. Hill went 8-10 from the charity stripe against the Red Wolves. 

He constantly works with the Falcon coaching staff to improve his free throw shooting, including 200 free throws a day.   

“Last year, I really didn’t shoot free throws as well as I wanted to,” Hill said. “So, I know this year, I wanted to come better and shoot a better percentage.”  

Hill has led the Falcons in scoring while being extremely efficient shooting the ball to start this season’s campaign. Through the first two games, he has made 16 of his 31 shot attempts, good for a field goal percentage of 51.6%.  

Hill, who shot 49.7% from the field last season, has made the jump from the NJCAA to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division without missing a beat.  

While adapting to the transition between the competitive levels, Hill has strengthened his game under Simon and the Bowling Green coaching staff.  

“I feel like the spacing that we have is different. Coach Todd has taught me a lot, and all the coaches taught me a lot with my pace. I feel like that has changed my game,” Hill said.  

Next up, Hill and the Falcons will travel to Rochester, Michigan, looking to advance to 3-0 against Oakland on Tuesday, Nov. 14. Tipoff against the Golden Grizzlies is set for 7 p.m.