As basketball teams head down the homestretch, many times the bench gets shorter as coaches go with
players they trust.
For Bowling Green head coach Louis Orr, it’s just the opposite. The Falcons are 11-12 overall and tied
for second in the Mid-American Conference East with Buffalo and Miami at 6-3. BG hosts MAC West-leader
Ball Saturday Wednesday with tipoff at 7 p.m.
Orr used nine players Saturday, including a four-man rotation at the guard spots with Joe Jakubowski and
Jordon Crawford at the point and Luke Kraus at the off-guard. Scott Thomas sees the majority of minutes
at small forward while A’uston Calhoun and Danny McElroy have been playing well offensively inside.
Torian Oglesby and Cameron Black also play inside.
Orr has seen some good things out of Mike Dabney in recent games and likes the way Craig Sealey has been
looking good in practice.
"Our depth, we say 14 strong, has been our strength, so why shouldn’t it continue to be," Orr
said. "We have to get better. This time of year, you can’t stand still."
SCOUTING BALL STATE: Ball State, 14-8 overall, leads the MAC West at 6-3 after a 72-71 win over Buffalo
last Saturday. The win broke a four-game losing streak.
Bowling Green’s offense will be challenged by Ball State, tops in the MAC in scoring defense, allowing
62.6 points per game. The Cardinals are allowing teams to shoot only 41.5 percent from the field against
them.
"Ball State is not a gimmick team … nothing really tricky, just solid basketball," Orr said.
Jarrod Jones is one of the top players in the MAC. The 6-feet-9 junior is averaging 14.8 points and 8.2
rebounds per game.
"They really do a good job of getting him the ball in positions where he can be effective whether
it’s against zone or man," Orr said. "I don’t think as far as a true big guy, there aren’t
many better, if any, in our league.
"You have to make sure he earns everything the gets … We’ve got to keep him from getting the ball
in areas where he’s more comfortable."
Jauwan Scaife, a 6-2 sophomore, is averaging 12.0 ppg and leads the team with 39 3-pointers. Scaife
scored 22 points in the win over Buffalo, making six 3-pointers. It was his second straight game with 20
or more points.
Randy Davis, a 5-11 junior, is averaging 10.2 points and 5.5 assists per game.
GAME TIMES: Bowling Green’s game at Ohio on Feb. 23 will start at 7:30 p.m. and be televised on
SportsTime Ohio.
The BG at Miami game on Feb. 26 will start at 11 a.m. and be shown on ESPNU.
NEXT: Bowling Green completes its six-game swing through the MAC West playing at Central Michigan on
Saturday. Tipoff is at 6:30 p.m.
