Ball State University
2-2
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Kansas
4-1
Basketball Falls To Kansas In Las Vegas Invitational
November 28, 2006 | Men's Basketball
The Cardinals return to the court in 24 hours to play Western Kentucky at 5 p.m. (8 p.m. Muncie) in the team's final game in the holiday tournament played at The Orleans Hotel & Arena in Las Vegas.
"We have to bounce back, because we are playing a very good team Saturday," said first-year BSU head coach Ronny Thompson. "It will be another tough challenge for our team, but I know we'll be ready to play."
In Friday's loss to the Jayhawks, a back-and-forth first half turned into KU's favor after Mario Chalmers drilled a pair of three-point field goals in a 12-3 Kansas run to close the first half.
The score was tied at 16 at the six-minute mark, but the long-range buckets from Chalmers and from Sherron Collins as time expired gave KU a 28-19 edge at the break.
The BSU defense limited Kansas to just 27 percent shooting in the first half and 40 percent for the game. Despite keeping the game within single digits through the first 10 minutes of the second half, Kansas shot 59 percent overall in the second half to build the double-digit lead.
"I thought we were taking good shots in the game," Thompson said. "The shots are going to start falling for us. We played hard and we kept fighting and that's what it is all about. I am not disappointed in our effort."
Senior Skip Mills, who missed the last two contests and played sparingly in the Cardinals' season opener Nov. 11, returned to the court Friday. He logged 19 minutes and scored all 13 points in the second half.
Mills entered the game just six points shy of becoming the 23rd player in BSU history to score 1,000 points in his career. He scored his 1,000th point with a driving layup with 6:30 remaining in the game.
"I felt good out there," Mills said. "I think it took a while to get into the flow of the game, but it felt good. It's all about heart and I wanted to get back out there."
Sophomore Anthony Newell reached double figures again with a team-high 15 points, plus led the rebounding effort with nine boards. Senior D'Andre Peyton added seven points and five rebounds. Senior Chris Ames also returned to the court after suffering a broken jaw two weeks ago.
