Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
4-78-16; MAC
Miami
8-312-11; MAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball State | 18 | 26 | 44 |
| Miami | 36 | 30 | 66 |
Men's Basketball Falls To MAC-Rival Miami
February 11, 2007 | Men's Basketball
OXFORD, Ohio -- For the third straight game the Ball State men's basketball team fell behind its opponent by double digits early in the contest and could not recover, falling 66-44 Saturday afternoon at Mid-American Conference foe Miami.
The loss drops Ball State to 8-16 overall and 4-7 in the MAC, while the host RedHawks won for the seventh time in eight games to improve to 12-11 overall and 8-3 in the league.
"Miami did a heck of a job defensively," says BSU first-year head coach Ronny Thompson. "On the offensive end, they executed very well. They do the blue-collar things that you must do to win."
The RedHawks connected on 17 of their 24 shots in the first half to shoot a blistering 71 percent en route to a 36-18 edge at halftime.
Ball State recorded just five field goals in the first half and shot 25 percent.
"We did not come to play defensively with the aggression we had to have and they took advantage of it," Thompson says.
A jumper from Peyton Stovall at the 17:49 mark made the score 4-2, but Miami then rattled off a 22-6 run. When Miami's Nathan Peavy hit a layup at the 15:16 mark, the home team's lead never left double figures for the remaining 35 minutes of the contest.
"We keep beating ourselves like before with the way we come out in games," Stovall said. "It seems we need someone to hit us hard before we play."
The Miami lead hovered between 17 and 20 points for the entire second half, before reaching a game-high 22 points with the 66-44 final.
Anthony Newell was the only Cardinal in double figures with 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Stovall finished with nine points, while Ahmaad Cook added seven.
Tim Pollitz scored 16 of his game-high 24 points in the first half to lead Miami. The Redhawks finished the game shooting 59 percent from the floor, compared to just 32 percent for BSU.
Ball State, in the midst of a three-game road trip, returns to action with a 7 p.m. (8 p.m. Muncie) tip Tuesday at Northern Illinois. The game will be televised by the Ball State Sports Network and can be seen online through "All Access" on ballstatesports.com.
