By Vince Nairn

The last time the Bobcats played Bowling Green, Ohio dropped its third Mid-American Conference game out of four and the Falcons were the surprise of the conference. Since then, the Bobcats both teams have gravitated toward the middle of the pack.

The two teams meet again Wednesday at The Convo, and the Bobcats will look to continue their recent streak of consistent play, as they have won six out of their past eight games.

“I expect it to be a dog fight just like it is every time,” coach John Groce said. “Obviously, we gotta do a better job than we did the first go around of guarding them…and taking care of the ball.”

Falcon forward Scott Thomas torched the Bobcats for 19 points and nine rebounds in the Jan. 19 game. In the teams’ past three meetings, Thomas is averaging 17.3 points and 7.7 rebounds.

“He’s had some great games against us,” Groce said. “He’s been difficult for us to defend. We need to do a better job of not giving him 3s, keeping him off the foul line and not getting us on the glass. He’s a very good offensive rebounder for a wing player.”

Bowling Green shot 7-of-14 from 3-point range last meeting. The 50 percent clip was almost twice what the Falcons shooting from the season from 3 (29 percent).

“We’ve got to defend the 3 better, period,” Groce said. “When we defend the 3, we’re a much better team. It’s a contrast in  between our wins and losses.”