The Bowling Green men’s basketball team defeated the University of Detroit Mercy Sunday to earn its fourth win of the season.
That game that was decided by a buzzer-beating layup by Richaun Holmes does more for the Falcons than add to their win column; it helps to excite their team, said head coach Chris Jans.
“When you go on the road like that and you win in the fashion that we did, it sometimes makes your team a little closer,” Jans said. “Time will tell, but it certainly could help galvanize the team even more than the natural bonding that could go on throughout the season.”
That type of win can also teach a coaching staff and players more about the type of team they can be.
“I think that it is really easy to be comfortable and have a lead the majority of the game and stretch it out to double figures,” Jans said. “When the other team fights back, you see it all of the time that the team who had the lead loses their confidence and they end up losing the game.”
Confidence isn’t something that Jans is worried about right now, though. The win in Detroit marks the first time the Falcons started the season 4-0 since they started the 1999-2000 season 6-0.
What the Falcons will need to focus on is putting their late-game win behind them because they will travel to Western Kentucky University Wednesday for a game against the Hilltoppers.
This will mark the team’s third game in six days. Although this is something new for this group, the coaching staff is doing all they can to prepare them for the short turnaround.
“We haven’t been in this situation thus far with this group,” Jans said. “For the coaches, we have been doing this for a while so it’s not difficult for us. We are an older team … that will help us in understanding that [the Detroit] game is over.”
For the second game in a row the Falcons will get a team’s best shot in foreign territory. The Hilltoppers are known for their raucous home crowds, averaging 4,417 fans in their three home games this season. In their most recent game, 5,194 people watched as the Hilltoppers lost to Belmont 64-63.
“We will be walking into a hostile environment,” Jans said. “We have played on the road before, but not in front of five or six thousand fans like they are going to have. We are going to play a team with a chip on their shoulder because of how things have gone this season for them.”
The Falcons will walk into E.A. Diddle Arena Wednesday against a 2-3 Hilltopper team, with the chance to move to 5-0 and expand on their already high confidence.
“I’m pleased with our record, but the best thing about this team is that we are just scratching the surface at where we can be,” Jans said. “I’ve told them all along that we have enough talent, but it’s going to be about how quickly they adjust to expectations, the culture and the system. It’s still a very, very young season and there is a lot of basketball to be played.”
