MUNCIE, Ind. ? Despite a career-high 18 points from senior guard Brandon Lampley (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton), the Ball State men's basketball team suffered its second loss of the season as the Cardinals dropped a hard fought 54-53 decision to Arkansas State Saturday afternoon at Worthen Arena. Lampley's potential game-winning jumper fell just short in the final seconds as the Cardinals fall to 3-2 on the season.
“Today was a hard fought game and it was decided in the paint,” head coach Billy Taylor said. “We knew coming in that we had to control the paint and take care of the defensive glass, unfortunately we didn't do those two things. Our defense played very well today and it gave our team a chance to win despite how poorly we played in a lot of areas.”
Lampley was one of two Cardinals to score in double figures as he recorded a career-high for the second straight game. He connected on five-of-eight shooting from the field and was seven-of-nine from the free throw line. Senior forward Anthony Newell (Chicago, Ill./Simeon) added 16 points and a team-high six rebounds in the loss as he was five-of-15 from the field.
The Cardinals suffered their worst shooting game of the season as they connected on just 30.8 percent (16-of-52) from the field. Ball State also lost the rebounding battle for the first time this season as it was out-rebounded by a 46-30 margin. The Ball State defense turned in a strong performance as it limited the Red Wolves to just 40.7 percent (22-of-54) shooting from the field and forced 15 ASU turnovers.
The two teams came out of the gate slowly with Arkansas State taking an 11-6 lead just seven minutes into the game. After a BSU timeout, the Cardinals pulled back within one point at 13-12. Senior Rob Giles (Detroit, Mich./Mott) sparked BSU in the first half as he scored seven first half points, including five in the first 10 minutes of the game off of the bench.
Ball State claimed its first lead of the game with a 12-2 run to take a 23-21 lead with five minutes remaining in the first half. Lampley scored three points in the spurt while Newell added four points, including a three-pointer in transition to cap the spurt. The two teams traded baskets back-and-forth to end the half as the Cardinals went into the locker room with a 32-27 lead.
The Cardinals connected on 33.3 percent (eight-of-24) from the field in the first half and shot 77.8 percent (14-of-18) from the free throw line. Lampley led all scorers with 12 first half points. Arkansas State hit 38.5 percent (10-of-26) from the field in the opening frame and held a seven-rebound advantage on the glass (22-15).
Ball State opened the second half with a quick 6-2 spurt to take its largest lead at 38-29. Lampley capped the quick run with a three-pointer after a strong passing sequence by the Cardinals found him alone on the wing. The Cardinals maintained their led just eight minutes into the second half as freshman guard Randy Davis (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth) scored on a drive to give BSU a 42-34 lead and force a Red Wolves timeout.
Arkansas State (4-1) responded to the timeout and ran off a 10-2 run to tie the game at 44-44 with 6:36 left in the game. The teams stayed within a basket until Newell scored five quick points, including a three-pointer to give the Cardinals a 52-48 lead with 3:42 left in the game. The Red Wolves scored six straight points to take their first lead of the second half at 54-52 with 1:30 left as JeJaun Brown scored on an offensive rebound.
After a BSU turnover, the Cardinal defense came up with a stop to give Ball State the ball with 30 seconds remaining. Newell was fouled on the play and hit one of two free throws to pull BSU within one point. ASU's Shawn Morgan missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw to give the Cardinals one last chance to win the game. Ball State came down the floor and got a good look at the basket as Lampley's fade-away jumper from the free throw line came up just short and Arkansas State was able to secure the rebound and the victory.
Arkansas State was led by forward Eric McKinney who posted a double-double in the victory. McKinney scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds. He was eight-of-11 from the field as he grabbed seven offensive rebounds to key the ASU attack. Brown added 11 points for the Red Wolves as he was five-of-10 from the field.
Giles finished the game with seven points, all of which came in the first half as he was four-of-four from the free throw line. Senior guard Laron Frazier (Waukegan, Ill./Highland CC) added five points and a game-high four steals in the loss. Freshman forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) was held scoreless for the first time this season but grabbed five rebounds and tallied a career-high three blocked shots.
The Cardinals will return to action quickly as they head up I-69 Monday night for an instate meeting with IPFW. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at the Memorial Coliseum.
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