Ball State University
13-14 (7-7MAC)
Northern Illinois
10-17 (5-9MAC)
Rally Falls Short For Men?s Basketball at Northern Illinois
February 28, 2009 | Men's Basketball
“It was a hard fought game on both ends,” head coach Billy Taylor said. “It was frustrating for us as we were right there and we had a chance to win it at the end with a good look from one of our seniors, Brandon Lampley, but he couldn't quite knock it down. We put ourselves in that position though as we committed too many turnovers and didn't have enough solid defense to win on the road.”
Lampley had a stellar night even with the miss at the end of the game as he scored a game-high 20 points. He connected on eight-of-12 from the field in the game, including a perfect four-of-four from three-point land in the loss. Senior guard Laron Frazier (Waukegan, Ill./Highland) added 14 points as he was five-of-11 shooting from the field.
Ball State (13-14, 7-7 MAC) came out of the gate quickly as the Cardinals opened to an 11-4 lead with just under seven minutes into the game. Senior guard Rob Giles (Detroit, Mich./Mott CC) started things off with a three-pointer and Frazier converted an old-fashioned three-point play on the fast break off of a steal in the run.
Northern Illinois (10-17, 5-9 MAC) responded with seven straight points to tie the game at 11-11. The Cardinals got back-to-back three-pointers from Lampley and Frazier as BSU took a 17-13 lead with eight minutes left in the half. The Huskies took advantage of the Cardinals' offense going cold as they closed the half on a 10-4 run to take a 23-21 lead into the locker room.
Ball State connected on just 34.8 percent (eight-of-23) from the field in the first half but did connect on 66.7 percent (four-of-six) from long range. Lampley paced the first half attack as he scored 10 points as he was four-of-five from the field. The Huskies were held to 31.0 percent (nine-of-29) shooting from the field and hit just 7.7 percent (one-of-13) from long range. NIU guard Darion Anderson led all scorers in the opening frame with 12 points while also grabbing eight rebounds.
The two teams came out of the halftime break and battled back and forth until the Cardinals took a 36-34 lead as junior forward Eric Wormely (Joliet, Ill./Kishwaukee CC) scored on a tip-in. The Huskies responded as they scored 11 straight points on their way to a 14-2 run. NIU senior Sean Smith came to life on senior night as he scored 12 of the 14 points during the run to give the Huskies a 48-38 lead.
Ball State regrouped and turned in a 10-3 run to pull within three at 52-49. Freshman guard Pierre Sneed (Chicago, Ill./Simeon) scored four points in the run while Lampley capped the spurt with his fourth three-pointer of the game. The Cardinals kept battling and narrowed the deficit to 56-53 on a layup from Lampley with 1:57 remaining.
Ball State's defense came up with a stop and Lampley pulled BSU within one at 56-55 with a layup with 44.2 seconds remaining in the game. The Cardinals stood tall on the defensive end and grabbed the rebound from Anderson's missed shot to set up the final play with 8.7 seconds left in the game. Ball State inbounded the ball into Lampley's hands and he drove the length of the court. He was able to rise above his defender and get off a jumper but it rolled off the rim. The Cardinals battled for the offensive rebound but the ball bounced around until the clock expired.
The Cardinals finished the game shooting 46.7 percent (21-of-450 from the field and 66.7 percent (eight-of-12) from long range. Ball State was uncharacteristically erratic with the ball though as it committed 18 turnovers in the loss.
“When it comes down to a one possession game and you turn it over 18 times, that is a lot of lost opportunities,” Taylor said. “It was all across the board from our guards to our forwards. We have to do a better job protecting the basketball.”
Giles finished the game with nine points as he was three-of-four from three-point land as he was limited to just 18 minutes because of foul trouble. Freshman forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) grabbed a game-high nine rebounds but was limited to four points as he fouled out after just 22 minutes.
Northern Illinois finished the game shooting 43.1 percent (22-of-51) from the field after the Huskies connected on 59.1 percent (13-of-220 in the second half. NIU also controlled the game in the paint as it out-scored the Cardinals 36-22 in the paint. NIU was led by Smith's 20 points in the victory as he was eight-of-15 from the field in 31 minutes of action. Anderson added 19 points and eight rebounds while Ante Dzepina chipped in 10 points, eight of which came in the second half.
The Cardinals will wrap up the road portion of the 2008-09 regular season schedule Wednesday night as they travel to Kalamazoo, Mich., to take on the Western Michigan Broncos at 7 p.m. The game will go a long way in determining to MAC West Division champion as the Cardinals are 7-7 in the MAC while WMU entered the day 6-7 before playing at Toledo. Wednesday's game will be broadcast by the Ball State Sports Network. Affiliates for the game include WIPB-Muncie, WNDA Jeffersonville/Louisville, Hometown Television 19 ? Noblesville/Indianapolis, WJTS Jasper & WHME South Bend.
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