Akron-BG: Zips Roll As Falcons Fly South In Second Half

The Falcons took one on the chin tonight as they faced off with Akron (11-4). The Zips pummeled Bowling Green 71-45 in the conference opener.

Bowling Green kept it close going into the half being down 32-28, but fell apart scoring only 17 second half points. Akron poured on 39 points after half time and pulled away for good just minutes into the second half.

The Falcons shot a horrendous 27 percent from the field and 35 percent from three-point range, along with adding 20 turnovers to their troubles.

Joe Jakubowski had a game-high 17 points, but didn’t get any help from his supporting cast. Otis Polk was the next closest scorer with eight points and seven rebounds for the struggling Falcons.

The Zips caught fire in the second half as they shot 43 percent from both the field and from behind the arc. They capitalized on the Falcons ice cold shooting and abundant turnovers to blow the game wide open in the second half.

Steve McNees had 11 point and Jimmy Conyers led the team with 16 points. Chris McKnight and Anthony Hitchens both added 10 points as they other Zips in double figures.

The Falcons needs someone to step up their scoring production to aid Jakubowski, who’s done what he could to carry a struggling team this far into the season. Otis Polk should be able to generate points off his knack for grabbing offensive rebounds, but even that has been slowed of late.

Dee Brown and Scott Thomas are other candidates who have struggled mightily when things start to go south for the Falcons. Even role players like Marc Larson and Erik Marshal are doing much to light up the stat sheet lately.

Bowling Green (7-6) desperately needs to fix its shooting woes before they square off with Buffalo (8-4) on Thursday. They face both Kent State (10-5) and Ohio (9-6) after the showdown with Buffalo. Poor shooting will guarantee that the Falcons will go 0-4 to that point in conference play.