There is no sugarcoating how bad the Bowling Green Men’s basketball team played in their previous matchup with the University of Akron, they got beat bad.

They missed a total of 41 shots and were beaten thoroughly in every aspect of the game, leading to a 67-50 loss.

“They beat us like a drum,” said head coach Chris Jans.

Not only did the Zips beat them on the stat sheet, but also in the categories that don’t show up on it. They were the first ones to the ground for 50/50 balls and they made a majority of the hustle plays.

“They physically outplayed us, from the jump,” said junior Delvin Dickerson. “They were just the better team

that night.”

The Falcons watched film after that game to see their mistakes, but after that they put it away and moved on.

With their next game being a rematch against the Zips they are forced to go back to it and see what they can do better this time around.

“After watching it and seeing what we did wrong, we got it in our head that we could have done such-and-such better,” Dickerson said. “We know what to do Saturday.”

What they will need to do is use that loss as motivation and come out pissed off and ready to play, Dickerson said.

“[The loss] is a hell of a motivation. As a team you don’t want to be beat like that,” Dickerson said. “[Jans] feels like if we gave our all, played hard and fought to the last minute he would have been OK with that, but we didn’t do that. We have to come out really pissed off and ready to play from the jump.”

That loss was a humbling experience for Jans and company he said.

“It was a very humbling evening,” he said. “You have to learn from the mistakes you made, in wins or losses. In losses you have to put them to bed pretty quickly and move on to the next game, if you don’t you run the risk of letting that defeat influence your next game.”

Though the Falcons have played well in recent games since that loss, they haven’t played a team as physical as the Zips, so knowing if the Falcons have improved in those aspects will be

a mystery.

“We will find out Saturday,” Jans said on if his team’s improved in those aspects. “I’m looking forward to the game and seeing how our team competes against a

known opponent.”

While Akron beat them in every aspect in the last matchup, the Falcons have a chance to get even and stay undefeated in Mid-American Conference play Saturday night at 7 p.m.

“We need to come in with the mindset to have each other’s back and protect the Stroh,” Dickerson said.