BOWLING GREEN, Ohio ? The Ball State men's basketball team suffered a hard fought 62-58 loss Wednesday night to Bowling Green at Anderson Arena in Mid-American Conference action. The loss snaps the Cardinals' two-game winning streak as it evens their record to 9-9 on the season and 4-2 in conference play as BSU remains in a tie atop the MAC West Division.
“Tonight was another tough game in the MAC,” head coach Billy Taylor said. “Bowling Green has a nice team and it is dealing with some injury issues like we are. Both teams came out and played extremely hard and it was a competitive game throughout. I thought we made a few too many mistakes in terms of our defensive assignments and I give Bowling Green credit for taking advantage of it.”
Freshman forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) paced the Cardinals' attack as he scored a game-high 15 points while grabbing a game-high eight rebounds in his first career contest against the MAC East Division. Jones connected on six-of-14 from the field and three-of-five from the free throw line as he tied his career-high with 33 minutes in the loss.
Bowling Green (10-9, 3-3 MAC) came out of the gate quickly against the Cardinals and jumped out to a 17-9 lead 10 minutes into the game. The Falcons took the early lead thanks in large part to a 9-2 run that forced a Ball State timeout. Ball State was uncharacteristically sloppy in the early going as it committed eight first half turnovers that led to 12 points for the Falcons.
The Cardinals started to find openings in the BGSU zone as Jones got going in the post. Ball State closed the half on a 7-2 run to pull within 32-28 heading into the locker room. Senior guard Laron Frazier (Waukegan, Ill./Highland CC) provided the spark against the zone as he nailed a three-pointer and sophomore forward Malik Perry (Philadelphia, Pa./Philadelphia Lutheran) scored on an offensive rebound in the waning seconds.
Ball State finished the half shooting 50 percent (13-of-26) from the field in the first half but just 25 percent (one-of-four) from three-point land. Jones paced the attack with nine points in the opening frame while Frazier added five points. Bowling Green finished the half shooting 46.2 percent (12-of-26) from the field and 16.7 percent (one-of-six) from three-point land. The Falcons were led in scoring by three players as Otis Polk, Scott Thomas and Erick Marschall each chipped in seven points.
The Cardinals came out to start the second half and pulled within two at 34-32 as Jones converted an offensive rebound. The Falcons scored four straight to extend the lead back to six but senior guard Brandon Lampley (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton) and Jones scored on consecutive possessions to pull BSU back within a basket. The Cardinals came up with a defensive stop and looked ready to take their first lead but Lampley's three-point attempt would not fall and Bowling Green converted a three-pointer on the other end to keep the momentum.
Ball State again showed its mettle as the Cardinals responded to a BGSU run with a 9-2 to pull within one point at 52-51. Frazier sparked the run with a three-pointer and freshman forward Mo Hubbard (Chantilly, Va./Westfield) nailed a jumper to narrow the margin to one.
Bowling Green got a key three-point play from Nate Miller to gain some breathing room with 3:21 left in the game and again keep the momentum. The Falcons looked liked they had sealed the victory with a pair of free throws with 35.9 seconds remaining as they took a 60-53 lead.
The Cardinals did not stop fighting though as freshman guard Randy Davis (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth) scored five straight points, including his second three-pointer of the game to pull BSU within two at 60-58 with 10.8 seconds remaining. Ball State's defense fought to get a BGSU turnover and forced the Falcons into back-to-back timeouts on the ensuing inbound play. The Falcons were finally able to inbound the ball on the third try and Chris Knight ended the Cardinals' comeback bid with two free throws to make it a two possession game.
Ball State finished the game shooting 42.9 percent (24-of-56) from the field and 36.4 percent (four-of-11) from three-point land. The Falcons ended the game shooting 50 percent (21-of-42) from the field and 33.3 percent (three-of-nine) from long range. Bowling Green had a large advantage from the free throw line as BGSU went to the line 26 times (17-of-26) compared to just nine times (six-of-nine) for the Cardinals.
Lampley finished the night with 12 points as he was five-of-12 from the field. Frazier added eight points while Davis chipped in eight points in 16 minutes off of the bench. Perry tallied six points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists in 29 minutes of hard fought action.
Bowling Green was paced by Polk's 13 points as he was five-of-five from the field and three-of-four form the charity stripe. Knight and Thomas each added nine points in the victory for the Falcons.
The Cardinals return home Saturday afternoon as they host MAC foe Ohio for a 2 p.m. start at Worthen Arena. The game will be broadcast by the Ball State Sports Network.
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