Amid a losing skid and shooting struggles for the Bowling Green men’s basketball team (4-3) last week, I wrote that it was too early to press the panic button for the Falcons.
The three games in the Northern Classic over the weekend, held in Montreal, Canada, proved that statement correct.
After dropping their first game of the tournament against Western Kentucky 72-65, the Orange and Brown defeated Lipscomb, 82-61, and Canisius, 77-73.
Although the Falcons struggled offensively against WKU, shooting just 39.7% (23-58) from the field and 19.2% (5-26) from three-point range, the final two games of the tournament were breakout performances for the Falcons, as they finally hit their stride shooting the ball.
Against Lipscomb, BG shot 60.3% (35-58) from the field and 55.6% (10-18) on three-pointers.
Then, against Canisius, BGSU shot 50% (29-58) from the field and 46.7% (7-15) from beyond the arc.
The Falcons entered the Northern Classic shooting 43.7% from the field and 27.6% on three-pointers through four games.
In the three games in Canada, BG shot 50% from the field and 37.3% from beyond the arc.
Junior guard Marcus Hill led the offensive outburst for the Falcons.
Hill led the Falcons in points in their first two games of the season, scoring 18 and 26 points against Chicago State and Arkansas State, respectively.
However, he hit a rough stretch in back-to-back losses against Oakland and Bellarmine, scoring just six and four points in the two games leading up to the Northern Classic.
Nevertheless, like BG’s offense, Hill found his stride in Canada.
Hill led the Falcons in scoring in all three games in the tournament, tallying 29 points against Western Kentucky, a season-high 33 against Lipscomb and 26 against Canisius. He also led BG in assists against Lipscomb and Canisius.
Over the three-game stretch in Canada, the Rockford, Illinois, native averaged 29.3 points and 3.3 assists per game, shooting 60.3% (35-58) from the field and 50% (3-6) from downtown.
Hill has been a breakout star this season for the Falcons. He has now led BG in scoring in five of their seven games and is averaging 20.3 points per game, which leads the team and ranks third in the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
While Bowling Green’s offense showed improvement over the three-game stretch in Montreal, BG’s defense did the same.
The Falcons had been in a rut defensively entering the Northern Classic. BG gave up 81 points against Oakland and 85 against Bellarmine, allowing the two teams to shoot a combined 53.3% from the field and 51.4% from beyond the arc.
However, the Orange and Brown’s defense played much better in Canada. Over the three games, BGSU allowed just 68.7 points per game, holding their opponents to just 40.4% shooting from the field and 30.3% from beyond the arc.
The Falcons also dominated on the boards over the past three games. BG won the rebounding battle in each contest in Canada, outrebounding their opponents by over four rebounds a game.
BG is still a young and new team. They are bound to go through more growing pains before the season is over.
But the final two games of the Northern Classic were a snapshot of what this team can be when they are firing on all cylinders.
If this team continues to play like they did in Canada over the weekend, they could wreak havoc come MAC play at the beginning of January.
However, the season is still young, and anything is possible in college basketball, especially in the MAC.
Next up for the Falcons is a trip down to Evansville, Indiana, for a matchup against the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles on Saturday, Dec. 2, with tipoff set for 4 p.m.
For more stories related to BGSU Athletics, follow Falcon Media Sports Network on X (@bg_fmsn).
