Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
9-18 (5-8MAC)
Central Michigan
11-15 (6-7MAC)
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Michigan | 38 | 23 | 61 |
| Ball State | 31 | 28 | 59 |
Three In Double Figures Not Enough; Cardinals Fall To Chippewas
February 23, 2007 | Men's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Despite overcoming a 14-point deficit midway through the second half, the Ball State men's basketball team fell to Central Michigan in a gritty, hard-fought Mid-American Conference contest, 61-59 Thursday night at Worthen Arena.
“I thought our guys did a tremendous job,” said BSU head coach Ronny Thompson. “Statistically, we won. We had a better field-goal percentage and we out-rebounded them. It was a typical MAC game tonight. It was a war between two teams who played hard.”
The visiting Chippewas wasted little time to set the tone early, as a three-point field goal from Giordan Watson less than five minutes into the game gave CMU an 11-1 lead.
The Cardinals' first field goal came at the 14:59 mark when Peyton Stovall made a three-pointer from the corner to start a 12-5 Ball State run.
After being tied at 16 with nine mintues on the clock, Central Michigan pulled away to gain a 38-31 advantage at halftime.
Fouls outnumbered field goals for both teams in the first half and for the entire game as CMU was whistled for 21 fouls and connected on just 18 buckets. BSU was called for 26 fouls, while making 21 baskets.
“We were just out there playing,” said Anthony Newell, who scored a BSU-high 16 points. “We knew how important this game was. Both teams were playing hard.”
Skip Mills, who missed the previous two games with a concussion, returned to the court tonight and started the second-half out for both teams by making a jumper to cut the Chippewas lead to five.
Central Michigan responded with its own 11-2 run that gave them the largest lead of the game for both teams at 14 points, 49-35 with 13:10 on the clock after a pair of Watson free throws.
On the next possession, Chris Ames converted a twisting lay-up, while Mills and freshman Ahmaad Cook found the scoring rhythm over the next seven minutes to cut the CMU lead to 52-51 with just under seven minutes to play.
After CMU pushed the lead back to five points, a bucket from Newell and a jumper from Mills tied the score at 58 all with 1:40 left, but CMU's Watson drilled an off-balance jumper on the right side with :13 left to give the Chippewas a 60-58 edge.
Stovall was fouled on on the Cardinals' attempt to tie the conetst as he drove to the lane. He missed the first free throw with :09 on the clock, but made the next to make the score 60-59.
Robbie Harmon was fouled with :07 to go and made one of two from the charity stripe to account for the final score.
"Winning is a process," Thompson said. "That's something that has to be learned. It's not something that you can wave a magica wand at. We have a group of guys that are trying to learn. Our upperclassmen never learned that and our young guys are trying to learn. We've won some close games and we haven't won some close games. The guys are definitely doing what they can and I'm proud of them for fighting."
The loss drops Ball State to 9-18 overall and 5-8 in the MAC, while Central Michigan improved to 11-15 overall and 6-7 in the league.
The Cardinals return to action with a 2 p.m. game Sunday at Eastern Michigan.
