TOLEDO, Ohio ? The Ball State men's basketball team suffered just its second loss of the season against the Mid-American Conference West Division as the Cardinals dropped a 71-67 contest against Toledo Wednesday night at Savage Hall as the Rockets came from behind and out-scored the Cardinals 45-34 in the second half. The loss drops the Cardinals to 6-6 in MAC play and into a tie with Western Michigan for the top spot in the MAC West Division.
“I am disappointed with my guys and our effort tonight,” head coach Billy Taylor said. “We were very poor on defense, especially in the second half, allowing 45 points and 63 percent shooting from the floor. We have a young team that has its ups and downs, unfortunately tonight we had too many of the downs. We have to regroup and go back to work in practice.”
Senior guard Rob Giles (Detroit, Mich./Mott CC) continued his stellar play of late as he posted the first double-double of his career as he scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds. Giles connected on eight-of-12 from the field, including four-of-seven from three-point land in the loss.
Toledo senior guard Tyrone Kent also had a strong game as he scored a game-high 26 points, including 22 in the second half, as he was 10-of-14 from the field. The Rockets scored 45 points in the second half which matches the highest point total for any Ball State opponent this season in a half (Evansville 45) as Toledo shot 63.6 percent (14-of-22) from the field in the second half.
Toledo (5-21, 3-9 MAC) came out of the gate quickly and opened to an early 14-9 lead just under seven minutes into the game. The Cardinals responded to the early adversity and scored six straight points on their way to a 12-1 run as they took a 21-15 lead. Freshman forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) started things off with back-to-back baskets and senior guard Laron Frazier (Waukegan, Ill./Highland CC) forced a Toledo timeout as he scored on a fast break.
Ball State extended the lead to seven points as Giles started to heat up as he scored all 12 of his first half points in a span of six minutes. During that stretch, he was the only Cardinal to score and his three-pointer at the 4:21 mark started a 7-2 run to close the half for Ball State as it went into the locker room with a 33-26 lead.
The Cardinals connected on 48.1 percent (13-of-27) from the field in the first half and 33.3 percent (three-of-nine) from three-point land. Giles led all scorers with 12 first half points as he was four-of-six from the field while Jones added eight points and six rebounds in the opening frame. Ball State held Toledo to 36 percent (nine-of-25) shooting in the half and 27.3 percent (three-of-11) from long range. Jonathan Amos led the Rockets with seven first half points while Justin Anyijong chipped in six points.
Toledo came out of the halftime break and jumped on the Cardinals with a 10-2 run to take a 36-35 lead and force a Ball State timeout. The Cardinals slowed the Rockets' momentum and were able to pull even at 42-42 when senior guard Brandon Lampley (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton) nailed a three-pointer.
The Rockets answered with a three-pointer of their own before Ball State ran off seven straight points to take a 49-45 lead. Jones was the catalyst in the spurt as he scored four points in the pain. The two teams battled back-and-forth with the Rockets reclaiming the lead at 58-55 with just under six minutes remaining in the game.
Freshman forward Mo Hubbard (Chantilly, Va./Westfield) gave the Cardinals back the lead with back-to-back baskets, including a dunk on the fast break after he made a steal at mid court to put BSU ahead 59-58. The Rockets did not back down as they re-took the lead at 61-59 before Giles connected on his fourth three-pointer to put BSU ahead for the final time at 62-61.
Kent answered Giles' three-pointer with an old-fashioned three-point play to give Toledo the lead back for good. The Cardinals pulled back within one at 67-66 with 15.9 seconds left in the game as Giles scored on an offensive put back. The Rockets nailed both free throws on the ensuing possession to extend the lead back to three at 69-66. Ball State had one final chance with 10.9 seconds but it wasn't able to get the potential game-tying three-pointer off and Toledo iced the game with two free throws by Amos.
Ball State finished the game shooting 50 percent (25-of-50) from the field and 42.9 percent (six-of-14) from three-point land. The Cardinals committed 16 turnovers though in the loss that led to 14 points by Toledo. The Rockets finished the game shooting 48.9 percent (23-of-47) from the field and 33.3 percent (six-of-18) from long range. Toledo also hit 19-of-29 (65.5%) from the line compared to 11-of-13 (84.6%) for the Cardinals.
Jones finished with 14 points and seven rebounds as he was one of four Cardinals in double figures. He connected on seven-of-15 from the field, but did not attempt a free throw in the game. Lampley added 11 points as he was three-of-five from the field, including two three-pointers. Hubbard scored a career-high 10 points as he was five-of-eight from the field while also grabbing four rebounds, dishing out three assists and notching two steals.
Toledo had four players in double figures as well with Amos chipping in 14 points, six rebounds and five points. Mohammed Lo added 10 points and seven rebounds while Anyijong tallied 12 points in the Rockets' victory.
The Cardinals return to action Saturday afternoon as they step out of MAC play to take part in the annual ESPNU BracketBusters event when they host Tennessee Tech. Game time is set for 2 p.m. at Worthen Arena. Also, the Ball State athletics department is hosting its annual Men's Basketball Alumni Reunion Weekend Saturday with a special emphasis on the 1988-89 team's 20th anniversary of its 29-3 campaign.
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