Feb. 27, 2006

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MIAMI (16-9, 12-4) at BOWLING GREEN (9-18, 5-11)
Wednesday, March 1, 7 P.M.
Anderson Arena (4,700)
Series Record: Miami leads 69-45
Last Meeting: at Miami 77, BGSU 60 (2/1/06)
Radio: BGSU Radio Network (Todd Walker and Kirk Cowan)

SENIOR NIGHT
Wednesday night will be the final home game of the season for the Falcons and will mark the final appearance before the home fans for senior forward Mawel Soler. Soler, who came to BGSU from Coffeyville Community College, has averaged 5.8 points in two seasons and has shot 67.3% from the field and 48.6% from three-point range in his career. He is averaging 7.7 points and is connecting on 64% of his shots this year.

FALCONS WILL GO ON THE ROAD IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT
The Falcons will be either the ninth or 10th seed in next week's MAC Tournament which begins on Monday, March 6. BGSU will play at either Toledo, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Ohio or Buffalo. The Falcons are 5-0 in MAC Tourney first round games and have won road tourney games at Akron and Ball State during Dan Dakich's tenure.

THE MIAMI SERIES
The RedHawks have won back-to-back games against the Falcons for the first time since the 1997-98 season. BGSU has won nine of the last 14 meetings, including eight straight at Anderson Arena. The last Miami win in Bowling Green came on February 28, 1986 in a 58-56 RedHawks triumph.

PLAYER NOTES
Junior Martin Samarco is second in the MAC (19th nationally) averaging 19.0 points per game and is ranked eighth in the country in three-point field goals made per game (3.62) and ninth overall in three-point field goal percentage (45.6%)... he also is third in the MAC in free throw percentage (85.6%) ... in league games only, he has made a MAC-best 90.3% (56 of 62) free throws and 50.4% of his three-pointers... he had 23 points and tied his season-high with seven three-pointers made at Buffalo... he has led the team in scoring 17 times this season and had a career-high 35 points at Eastern Michigan, 30 at home against Buffalo and 28 versus Ohio... he also had 27 in back-to-back games earlier this year against Bradley and Florida State... his 94 three pointers is the most in a single season at BGSU breaking Keith McLeod's single-season record of 89 set in 2001-02... in the last eight games, junior John Floyd has averaged 15.0 points on 50.0% shooting from the field and 45.3% marksmanship from long distance... he had 15 points, five assists and a career-high five steals at Buffalo... he had a team-high 19 points at Akron and had 17 points against Toledo ... he had 22 points and seven assists against Ohio after he had 21 points and set a career-high with three steals against Miami... he had 14 points, including 11 in the second half against Kent State... his three-pointer as the shot clock expired late in the game extended a Falcon lead from four to seven points... he had a career-high 23-point effort, making five of seven three-pointers against Western Michigan... senior Mawel Soler has had back-to-back games of double figure scoring with 11 points and eight rebounds against Buffalo and 15 points and five rebounds at home against Kent State... he had his first career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds at Kent State and made a career-high 13 free throws in 13 attempts... has made a team-high 64.0% of his shots from the field and is averaging 7.7 points and 5.0 rebounds... he is shooting 67.3% from the floor during his two seasons with the Falcons... he also is third on the team with 69 assists and tied his career high with three steals against Wright State... freshman Erik Marschall is a contender for the All-Freshman team in the MAC averaging 7.2 points and 4.3 rebounds ... he had 14 points in back-to-back games against Kent State and Wright State and tied a career-high with seven field goals made against the Raiders... he has scored in double figures eight times this season and leads the team in blocked shots with 15... he had a career-high three steals against Buffalo earlier this season... junior Matt Lefeld (Business, 3.96 GPA) was named CoSIDA Academic All-District and is looking to become the school's first men's basketball Academic All-American since Steve Martenet earned third team honors in 1988... he had his ninth double digit scoring effort this season with 11 points against Toledo... has now made 27 of his last 32 free throw attempts... is arguably the most improved player in the MAC... last year he scored just 14 points all season, but equaled that in his first game this year against Western Carolina... despite sore feet which limit his practice time, Lefeld is averaging 7.7 points and 3.5 rebounds ... junior guard Patrick Phillips has made three starts this season... he had four points and three assists at Buffalo... he had a career-high 10 points and six rebounds against Ohio in a career-high 19 minutes... he also provided a huge lift to the Falcons when he scored four second half points at home against Buffalo... he had a career-high seven points against Notre Dame and added two rebounds and a steal in seven minutes of action... sophomore guard Perrick Robinson is one of the Falcons top defenders... Robinson leads the team with 30 steals and is fourth in assists with 47... had five points at Akron, breaking a seven-game scoreless streak... he is the only Falcon to start the season opener in each of the last two seasons ... freshman Dusan Radivojevic is out due to a sprained right knee... he is averaging 2.8 points and is shooting 36.7% from three-point range... freshman Brian Moten joined the team against Florida State and played a season-high 21 minutes against Kent State... he is averaging 2.3 points... he had a season-high nine points against Central Michigan... freshman Darryl Clements scored his first career points in the MAC with three at Akron... he is averaging 2.0 points and 1.7 rebounds... he saw his most action in MAC play with 14 minutes at Buffalo... he had four rebounds and a career-high two assists against the Bulls... he had seven points against Oakland... freshman walk-on Brian Guerin played a MAC-high 10 minutes at Buffalo and made his only field goal attempt... made two free throws at Akron... he missed a month earlier this season due to mono... sophomore walk-on Alvin Freeman is in his second year with BGSU and had three points against Urbana... he had his longest MAC playing stint when he logged four minutes at Miami.

TEAM TRENDS
BGSU also has led in every MAC game this season and had a 21-14 lead at Buffalo... BGSU leads the MAC in three-point field goal percentage (38.9%) and is 19th in the country in that category... BGSU finished 4-4 against the MAC West this year... BGSU is 24-5 when it has had to play defense with a one possession lead in the final minute since the 2001-02 season... Buffalo made just one of 11 three pointers, matching season lows for a Falcon opponent this year, and is the ninth team this season to shoot below 30% from beyond the arc against the Falcons this year... BGSU outrebounded Toledo, 30-28, winning the battle of the boards for the first time against a MAC opponent this year... the Falcons improved to 37-8 since 2000-01 when making half of its shots or better in a game... BGSU shot 23 of 46 from the field against EMU... the Falcons scored a season-high 90 points against Ohio (previous high was 85 against Urbana)... it marked the first time in 19 games under Dan Dakich that the Falcons lost a game when they scored 90 points or more... the last BGSU loss when it scored 90 points or more came in Jim Larranaga's last game with the Falcons, a 98-95 loss in the NIT to West Virginia... against Ohio, the Falcons also tied a season-high with 30 made field goals and attempts with 61... BGSU also racked up a season-high 22 assists... the Ohio game was the first double-overtime game for Bowling Green since playing at Detroit on November 29, 1995... it marked the first back-to-back overtime home games since BGSU defeated Kent State (83-81) on February 2, 1977 and lost to Ohio (69-68) on February 5 of that season... it was the first home double-overtime tilt since February 1, 1969 when the Falcons lost to Western Michigan, 88-87... when BGSU fell to Akron last week, the Falcons lost a home overtime game for the first time since December 12, 1985 against Defiance when it fell 66-64... against Buffalo and Kent State, BGSU shot 50.0% from the field in back-to-back games for the first time this season... BGSU is 83-24 at home since the 1998-99 season... BGSU has played six one-point games in the last year and are 4-2 in those contests... BGSU is 28-3 since the 2001 season when holding an opponent under 60 points... against Virginia Tech, the Falcons won their road opener for the third time in Dakich's nine seasons (1999-00 at Hawaii; 2001-2002 at Duquesne)... four teams have shot below 30 percent from the field against BGSU including Urbana (25.5%), CMU (26.2%), Troy (27.8%) and Western Carolina (28.9%).

SAMARCO COULD HIT CENTURY MARK
Junior Martin Samarco could become the third player in MAC history to make 100 or more three-point field goals in a season.

MAC Single Season Three-Point Field Goal Leaders
131 Dave Jamerson, Ohio (1989-90)
107 Mark Alberts, Akron (1992-93)
98 Ronald Blackshear, Marshall (2002-03)
94 Martin Samarco , BGSU (2005-06)

DAKICH ON INDIANA SILVER ANNIVERSARY TEAM
BGSU Coach Dan Dakich will be one of 16 former players chosen for the 2006 Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame High School Silver Anniversary team which will be recognized before the State Final Tournament in Indianapolis. He played at Andrean High School in Merrillville.