Bowling Green senior breaks record with 26 straight made shots
Bowling Green's Torian Oglesby has carved out a spot for himself in the Falcons' rotation because of his defense and rebounding, so even the 6-foot-7 senior admits he's surprised it's his scoring that has earned him national recognition.
Since a missed dunk attempt in a victory over Temple on Nov. 27, Oglesby has sunk 26 consecutive shots over the course of seven games. His tip-in of a teammate's missed layup with 34 seconds left in Sunday's overtime loss to Texas-San Antonio capped a 10-for-10 shooting night and broke the NCAA Division I record of 25 consecutive buckets set by Ray Voelkel of American in 1978.
"I never thought I would be the one to do something like that," Oglesby said. "As the game was going on, I wasn't thinking about breaking a record. I didn't know anything about it until after the game. But once I found out, I was pretty proud about it."
What makes Bowling Green coach Louis Orr especially proud of the record is the way Oglesby has achieved it.
Oglesby hasn't scored by demanding the ball in the post or by floating to the perimeter for jump shots. Instead, the Michigan native has continued to fill his customary role of running the floor in transition and crashing the offensive glass, scoring the majority of his points on dunks, put-backs and tip-ins.
"It's a credit to him staying disciplined with his game and knowing who he is," Orr said. "He doesn't shoot 3-pointers, but he's very efficient around the basket, he's very athletic and he has great timing on offensive rebounds. He doesn't take any shots that he can't make, and it has helped us because he has been able to score points just off of his activity and his energy."
The way Oglesby has developed at Bowling Green validates the risk Orr took signing him in 2010 even though he had played minimal organized basketball prior to his two seasons at Mott Community College. Oglesby only averaged 10 points per game in his second year at Mott, but he helped lead the team to a 26-4 record by averaging 8.4 rebounds per game, making 41 steals and shooting 63.9 percent from the floor.
Since enrolling at Bowling Green, Oglesby has become even more explosive thanks to his diligence in conditioning and in the weight room. He averages 5.2 points and 4.8 rebounds in 17.1 minutes per game off the bench and he has made an extraordinarily efficient 33 of 37 field goal attempts on the season.
"I take pride in the little things because I know that's what it takes to win," Oglesby said. "I dunk, I rebound and I defend. That's pretty much what I'm out there for."
It wasn't until Orr realized Oglesby had made all 10 of his shots against Texas-San Antonio that he thought to have athletic communications director Jason Knavel investigate whether the senior was approaching an NCAA record. Sure enough, Knavel discovered that Oglesby had surpassed Voelkel on his final bucket that day.
Oglesby initially didn't think the record was all that significant, but the national media attention and the flood of congratulatory calls and texts from friends and family have made him more aware of what he has accomplished.
"It's something I can say I did that's positive," Oglesby said. "I didn't expect myself to break a record and my family didn't expect me to break a record. Nobody would have expected it to be me, but thank God it was."
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