BGSU men’s basketball junior forward Mayar Wol made a loud statement off the bench in his official debut with the Falcons in their 83-43 victory against Texas State University on Monday night.
The Eastern Kentucky transfer shot a perfect 6-for-6 on the night from the field, with four of those shots being from beyond the arc. This, along with Wol’s 3-for-4 performance from the free-throw line, gave him a team-high 19 points in the win.
Producing points coming off the bench is something that the North Carolina native has been known for doing so far in his collegiate career. In his time at Eastern Kentucky, Wol was named Atlantic Sun Conference Sixth Man of the Year.
“If that’s my role, just come off the bench, do what I do, I’m going to do that every night I can,” said Wol postgame.
On top of the scoring performance, Wol also recorded three rebounds, one assist and a steal in the matchup.
Another thing that stuck out from Wol and the Falcons as a unit was the effort put in on the defensive side of the ball, something Wol attributes to the team’s hard preparation.
“We practice hard every day. It’s what we do every day. So, in the game, almost the game is easier than practice,” Wol stated.
Including the two exhibition games previously played, Wol’s minutes on Monday marked a large increase, with 28 minutes on the night, after Sam Towns was forced to sit just a few minutes in after early foul trouble.
Although Wol’s success came from off the bench, head coach Todd Simon believes that the junior forward and many other bench players are on par with the starters.
“You know, we are very fortunate to have a lot of starters,” said Simon. “Mayar just has to step in and gets 28 minutes and doesn’t miss a shot.”
The only regret that Simon had in terms of Wol’s performance on the night was not giving him more shot opportunities.
“I think his coach probably needed to get him some more shots. He goes 6-for-6 with 19 points; he probably should have gotten 10 more,” Simon stated. “I’ve got all the faith in the world he’s going to perform at a high, high level this year,” he added.
Wol and the rest of the Falcons will aim to replicate this showing in a few days’ time as they face off against Bethany College on game two of the three-game opening homestead at the Stroh Center on Thursday at 7 p.m.
