The BG basketball team will face off against The University of North Dakota Wednesday night for a chance to avenge their close loss to Xavier this past Saturday.
The Falcons lost to Xavier University in overtime 85-73 while junior Richuan Holmes had another career-high scoring night with 26 points.
Holmes has scored a career-high in points two games in a row as he totaled 18 points against Western Kentucky Dec. 2.
North Dakota’s Troy Huff is the leading scorer in the Big Sky conference with an average of 22.7 points a game while shooting 46 percent as well.
“He is good at attacking the rim and getting his shots off,” said junior Richuan Holmes.
The Falcons know they will need to focus in on Huff defensively. They know that it will not be just one guy’s job to shut down Huff; it will need to be a group defense said head coach Louis Orr.
“We can’t let him out work us,” Orr said. “He is a multiple effort guy. He will miss his shot and go get his own rebound.”
Falcon Chauncey Orr has officially been listed as out for the season with a knee injury. He aggravated it in the first game of the season against Earlham College and had to have season ending knee surgery. He has not torn anything but he has had a ligament problem that is affecting his kneecap.
“He is a guy who could get to the free throw line and was our best percentage three point shooter,” Orr said. “He affected the stat sheet in a lot of different ways.”
The Falcons should have the advantage in the rebound category, as North Dakota has not rebounded well this year. Although they may not rebound well they make up for that by taking care of the ball and only turning it over 10 times a game. That is the exact opposite of how Butler played so the Falcons will need to adjust in that sense.
“We have to play defense for the entire possession,” Holmes said. “They take care of the ball and they run their sets and they will try to space you out.”
The Falcons have a good stretch of home games starting with this game against North Dakota Wednesday night.
“It feels good to be back home in the Stroh Center,” Holmes said. “We had success here over the last few years in the Stroh; we are looking to protect home court.”
