Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
7-15, 3-6MAC
Akron
17-4, 8-1MAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball State | 22 | 30 | 52 |
| Akron | 35 | 35 | 70 |
Men's Basketball Falls In MAC Play At Akron
February 04, 2007 | Men's Basketball
AKRON, Ohio -- Despite 15 points and a career-high nine rebounds from Peyton Stovall, the Ball State men's basketball team again found itself in a deep hole in the first half and a second-half run couldn't pull the Cardinals close in a 70-52 setback Saturday at Akron.
The loss was BSU's second straight and drops the Cardinals to 7-15 overall and 3-6 in Mid-American Conference play.
Akron, the league's preseason favorite, won its eighth straight contest to improve to 17-4 overall and a league-best 8-1.
"In the second half, at times we started doing what we should have been doing from the start," Stovall said referring to his team's poor start. "When we finally came to our senses, it was too late. We beat ourselves with the way we started the game."
The Cardinals and the Zips were close on the scoreboard through the first eight minutes of Saturday's FOX Sports Net televised game.
A layup from D'Andre Peyton with 7:26 on the clock made the score 19-17 in favor of the home team, but Akron's Chris McKnight answered on the next possession to spark a 12-0 run which was capped by a three-point field goal from Nick Dials.
Dials' three wth 2:07 on the clock made the score 31-17 en route to a 35-22 edge at the intermission.
The lead reached 20 points for Akron five minutes into the second half after a three from Dru Joyce with 15:17 on the clock. The advantage grew to a game-high 21 points on four occassions.
A BSU run pulled the Cardinals to within 12 points following a three-pointer from Stovall with 8:33 on the clock, but Joyce answered again for the Zips with another three with 6:34 remaining to eventually push the lead back to 20 points.
"Akron made plays," said BSU head coach Ronny Thompson. "That's a team which is a couple of wins away from being a top 25 team and they should be. They have all the components of a team that has been together for three or four years."
In addition to the 15 points from Stovall, Skip Mills was the only other Cardinal in double figures with 10 points. Anthony Newell chipped in nine points and grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.
Joyce led four Zips in double figures with 16 points.
The Cardinals return to Worthen Arena for a 7 p.m. contest Wednesday vs. Buffalo.
