Another season comes to an end for the men’s basketball team in the first round of the Mid-American Tournament; this year it was on the road at Northern Illinois.
“I appreciate the effort of these young men and our coaching staff,” head coach Louis Orr said. “They didn’t quit and they let us coach them.”
In a game where points were hard to come by, the Falcons committed 22 turnovers and NIU turned those turnovers into 27 points. Those points off turnovers came up big for the Huskies as they would only score 54 points in the game.
“When both teams are playing defense, points are hard to come by,” Orr said. “The difference was in our 22 turnovers.”
Those 54 points were just enough though as the Falcons could not find a way to score when the game went into overtime and would go on to lose 54-51. The Falcons scored only two points in the five minute overtime period and that came off a Jehvon Clarke floater.
“Cam Black made a great play,” Orr said.
Clarke sent the Falcons into overtime with a three-pointer at the end of the second half. Clarke was given the opportunity for the shot after an offensive rebound from senior Black.
“It was a big shot, and after that shot, I thought we were in a good position to win,” Clarke said. “It gave us a shot of adrenaline and momentum in overtime.”
Free throws were a problem for the Falcons as well in this matchup as they shot 54 percent in the game.
The Falcons were led by Clarke who scored 15 points but turned the ball over seven times, junior Richaun Holmes recorded yet another double-double as he had 10 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks to go with it. With Holmes’ first block he surpassed Otis Polk as the BGSU career leader in blocks in just his second season as a Falcon.
The Huskies were led by Jordan Threloff who scored 13 points and had nine rebounds on 5-9 shooting from the field.
This loss keeps the Falcons from getting to Cleveland for the MAC Tournament for the third year in a row.
After the loss the University announced Orr’s contract will not be renewed for the next year. The Falcons will go into the off season coachless but the national search is beginning immediately.
