Ball State University
5-21
Eastern Kentucky
14-13
Men's Basketball Suffers 51-48 Loss at Eastern Kentucky
February 23, 2008 | Men's Basketball
RICHMOND, Ky. - - Ball State's men's basketball team put together an outstanding effort, but suffered a 51-48 defeat at Eastern Kentucky Saturday night. With the loss, Ball State falls to 5-21 on the season, while the Colonels improved to 14-13 overall.
"Our kids played hard," Ball State head coach Billy Taylor says. "Peyton Stovall gave us a great effort in his scoring and rebounding. We received tremendous support off the bench from Laron Frazier, Brandon Lampley and Dexter Hinkley. Their contributions helped bring us back and withstand Eastern Kentucky's early run."
With the ball, and down 47-46 with 47.6 seconds to play, Ball State head coach Billy Taylor called a timeout to set up the BSU possession. A Brandon Lampley to Peyton Stovall backdoor cut worked to perfection and the Stovall layup gave the Cardinals a 48-47 lead with 35.2 seconds to play.
Eastern Kentucky regained the advantage on a well-defended jumper and took a 49-48 lead with 16.6 to play. After an EKU timeout, the Cardinals' Anthony Newell's shot was in and out and the Colonels managed a pair of free throws with 2.1 seconds to play to claim the 51-48 victory.
"Anthony Newell got a great look and got exactly the shot we wanted. It was an 8-foot jumper from the player we wanted and from the place we wanted. Unfortunately, it did not go in."
Stovall led the Cardinals with 22 points and nine rebounds in 38 minutes of action plus added two assists and one steal. Newell had a team-high 11 reobunds with six points, one assist, one block and one steal.
Ball State cut into the lead early in the second half and pulled within two at 29-27 and then again 32-30 with 12:36 to play in the game. The Cardinals tied the game at 36-36 with 7:40 to play, and then again with 6:37 remaining, a Lampley three pointer tied the game at 39-39. Newell scored on a 10-footer with 5:34 remaining to give the Cardinals a 41-39 advantage and their first lead of the game.
Newell hit a layup with 4:36 to play to give the Cardinals a 43-41 edge. An EKU three pointer put the Colonels ahead 44-43 with just under four minutes to play, but Ball State responded with a Lampley three pointer to put the Cardinals back on top 46-44.
With the game tied at 46-46 at the 2:20 mark, a Ball State foul sent EKU to the free throw line. A pair of free throws later, Eastern Kentucky took a 47-46 lead.
After falling behind early in the contest, the Cardinals rallied back to a 23-18 halftime deficit. Despite shooting 32 percent from the field in the first stanza, Ball State was behind only five due in large part to a defense that held the Colonels to a 41 percent shooting mark.
The Cardinals outrebounded Eastern Kentucky 22-8 in the first half, but committed 11 turnovers to EKU's four. Stovall led the Cardinals first half attack with 12 points, five rebounds and one steal in 18 minutes of action.
Ball State returns to action Saturday at Eastern Michigan in a MAC battle. The Cardinals will complete the regular season with a March 4 home game against Northern Illinois and a March 9 contest at Western Michigan. The MAC Tournament is slated for March 12-15 in Cleveland, Ohio.
