Ball State University Athletics
Acker's Double-Double Not Enough To Edge Buffalo
January 18, 2006 | Men's Basketball
The true freshman recorded his first collegiate double-double with 15 points and 10 assists, but the host Bulls outscored the Cardinals 17-7 in the final 4:19 en route to a 75-64 victory.
The loss dropped Ball State to 4-9 overall and 0-5 in the MAC, while Buffalo posted its 13th straight win at home to improve to 13-3 overall and 3-2 in the league.
"I admire the way Maurice has played," said BSU head coach Tim Buckley. "Especially when you consider the last four point guards he has faced have all been upperclassmen and battle-tested players in this league."
The double-double was the first of the points/assists variety since Randy Zachary scored 19 points and handed out 10 assists against Eastern Michigan in 1997.
The score was tied at 58 with 4:19 to play, but a pair of free throws from All-MAC preseason selection Yassin Idbihi started the Bulls' run with a pair of free throws.
Less than a minute later UB's Mario Jordan was sent to the free throw line and missed both attempts, however Idbihi grabbed the offensive rebound and scored to put the home team ahead 62-58. The lead stretched to double figures on a pair of free throws from Calvin Cage with 1:16 left.
"The offensive rebound on the free throw and putback by Idbihi was the play of the game," Buckley said. "He made the play to lead his team to the win. At this point in the MAC season, we haven't found that yet. There has been three to four plays which I call defining moments in each loss. We haven't made those plays yet, but we're going to."
After trailing by one at halftime, Buffalo stretched its slim margin to 47-42 less than six minutes into the second half. However, Skip Mills rattled off seven straight points to give BSU a 51-47 lead at the 10:30 mark.
Acker added a pair of free throws to give BSU a six-point edge with just under nine minutes to play , before a layup from UB's Vadim Fedotov sparked the Bulls to tie the game at 53. The game was tied again at 55 when Cage drilled a three-point basket which was immediately answered by Mills to make it 58-58.
Mills finished with 20 point for his 21st straight double-figure scoring game dating back to last season. D'Andre Peyton matched Acker with 15 points. The Cardinals shot 42 percent from the floor, 40 percent from three-point range and 73 percent from the free throw line.
Idbihi racked up 23 points and 12 boards to lead three Buffalo players in double figures. Cage, added 21 points, Roderick Middleton had 12 and Mario Jordan chipped in 10 off the bench.
The Cardinals, who suffered their seventh straight setback, end their stretch against teams from the MAC's East Division in Muncie with a 7 p.m. tilt Saturday against rival Bowling Green.
