Ball State University Athletics
Cards Drop MAC West Contest With Western Michigan
February 22, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Skip Mills led Ball State with 14 points. MAC Freshman of the Year candidate Maurice Acker added 12 points, a career-best seven rebounds and five assists.
Acker's final assist of the night gave Ball State its first and only lead of the second half at 51-50 with 6:48 to play. Acker weaved into the lane between Western Michigan defenders and whipped a pass to Chris Ames for a lay-in.
The lead was short-lived. Western's Brian Snider quickly connected on a three-pointer to regain the lead for the Broncos.
Ball State closed the gap to two points on two more occasions, the final time on a jumper in the lane from Acker with 33 seconds to play to make the score 58-56.
The Cardinals couldn't score on their final two possessions, and four Joe Reitz free throws sealed the Western Michigan victory.
"We missed some key layups at the end of the game," Mills said. "That gives them the momentum, and you really need those points at the end of the game."
After trailing for the majority of the first half, Ball State tied the game at 20 on a Tom Howland layup at the 6:12 mark. Western Michigan closed the half on an 11-3 run to take a seven-point lead into the break.
"Whenever you play Western, it's physical and aggressive," Ball State coach Tim Buckley said. "We knew that, and we didn't respond to it in the first half. I thought we did a little better in the second half."
Reitz finished with 16 points, 15 of them in the second half, and Stane's Bufford led Western with 19 points.
"It was a war out there," Western Michigan coach Steve Hawkins said. "There's just no quit in those kids from Ball State. I don't know that there's a team in the league that's played more close games than they have."
With the loss, the Ball State falls to 9-15 (5-10 MAC). The Cardinals travel to Toledo for a 2 p.m. tip Sunday against the Rockets.
