Ball State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Falls One Short at Indiana State, 57-56
December 10, 2005 | Men's Basketball
TERRE HAUTE – Skip Mills scored a season-high 22 points Saturday, but Ball State came up just short in a 57-56 loss at Indiana State.
Even Mills' near half-court shot at the buzzer was not enough to give the Cardinals a victory.
Indiana State's Gabriel Moore had already sealed the victory with a free throw with less than one second remaining, which gave the Sycamores a four-point lead.
The Cardinals struggled from the free throw line, making 9-of-18, and finished with 17 turnovers.
"When you play teams like Indiana State and you make mistakes, they cost you," Ball State coach Tim Buckley said. "But I was proud of our guys. They played hard in a hostile environment."
Charles Bass scored nine points and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Cardinals, and D'Andre Peyton added eight points.
Ball State led for a majority of the second half. After holding a 26-24 halftime advantage, the Cardinals expanded their lead to five points at 34-29 on a Bass dunk near the 14-minute mark. Two Bass free throws then pushed the lead to 36-29, matching the Cardinals' largest lead.
Indiana State responded with an 11-4 run to even the game at 40. Ball State built its lead back to 45-40, but Indiana State again answered. The Sycamores scored the next six points and took their first lead of the second half at 46-45 on two Trent Wurtz free throws with 5:13 to play.
Wurtz finished with 10 points as one of three Sycamores in double figures. David Moss led Indiana State with 13 points, and Moore added 10. Moss came in averaging nearly 23 points on the season.
The teams traded baskets down the stretch until Indiana State opened up a three-point lead at 56-53 with one minute to play.
The score remained that way until the final seconds. When Moss fouled out on a charge with 13 seconds to play the Cardinals got the ball back with a chance to even the game, however a Maurice Acker three-point attempt was off the mark.
After a foul, Moore's free throws sealed the Indiana State win.
"We need to work on closing out the game," Mills said. "That was our game, and they took it from us."
Ball State (3-2) returns to action Dec. 17 with a 4 p.m. home game against Anderson.
