Ball State University
2-2
UC-Davis
3-3
Second Half Dooms Men's Basketball Against UC Davis
November 28, 2009 | Men's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State men's basketball team suffered its second straight loss Saturday afternoon as the Cardinals dropped a 60-58 decision to visiting UC Davis at Worthen Arena. The Cardinals fall to 2-2 on the season with the loss while the Aggies improve to 3-3 on the year.
"It was a tough loss for us today," head coach Billy Taylor said. "Three areas of concern for us today were too many turnovers, missed free throws and missed layups. Credit UC Davis for making their free throws and getting baskets when they needed it. We have to continue to work hard in practice and continue to figure it out as we get ready for another tough game this week."
Freshman guard Jauwan Scaife (Muncie, Ind./Central) turned in his fourth straight strong performance as he led the Cardinals with 14 points in 34 minutes of action. Scaife has now opened his collegiate career with double figure scoring efforts in his first four games. Senior forward Terrence Watson (Detroit, Mich./Univ. of Mississippi) posted his first career double-double in the loss as he scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds off of the bench.
UC Davis came out of the gate quickly as it scored the first five points and opened to an early 7-2 lead using its active zone against BSU. The Cardinals regrouped and ran off a 9-2 run to take its first lead of the game at 11-9. The run was highlighted by a thunderous fast break dunk from sophomore forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) and a three-pointer from senior guard Brawley Chisholm (Bronx, N.Y./Western Texas College).
The two teams battled back-and-forth with the Aggies taking a 23-20 lead with 4:13 left as Dominic Calegari nailed a three-pointer. The Cardinals responded with a 10-2 run to take a 30-25 lead as Scaife scored six quick points on an old-fashioned three-point play and a long range shot. UC Davis was able to trim the lead back down to four points at 32-28 as Calegari nailed his fourth three-pointer of the half.
Ball State finished the first half shooting 40.7 percent (11-of-27) from the field and seven-of-nine (77.8%) from the free throw line. Seven different Cardinals scored in the first half with Jones leading the way with eight points. UC Davis connected on 44.0 percent (11-of-25) from the field as Calegari scored 14 points and Joe Harden added 10 points.
The Cardinals came out of halftime and took a 45-39 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game. Scaife scored five points in less than a minute to ignite a 7-2 run that was capped by Watson's offensive put back.
After trading baskets, the Cardinals held a 49-43 lead before UC Davis posted a 12-2 run to take the lead back for good at 55-51. Ball State fought to narrow the gap down the stretch as it pulled within one point at 59-58 when Chisholm hit both free throws. The Aggies connected on one of two free throws on the other end but the Cardinals' last second shot fell just short as time expired. The Cardinals were held without a field goal for the final 8:19 of the game.
Ball State finished the game shooting 37.0 percent (17-of-46) from the field and 41.7 percent (five-of-12) from long range. The Cardinals also shot 59.4 percent (19-of-32) from the charity stripe, including just 12-of-23 (52.2%) in the second half. Jones finished the game with 12 points and seven rebounds in 28 minutes of action, while Chisholm added seven points off of the bench.
UC Davis finished the game shooting 40.4 percent (19-of-47) from the field and 35.7 percent (five-of-14) from long range. The Aggies forced BSU into 16 turnovers as they tallied nine steals, one shy of their season average. Calegari led all scorers with 24 points as he was nine-of-18 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds. Harden chipped in 17 points and nine rebounds while Mark Payne added 11 points and seven assists.
Ball State returns to action Wednesday night as it hosts 10th ranked Butler at 7 p.m. at Worthen Arena.
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