MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State men's basketball team rallied from a 20-point first half deficit to pull within four points late in the second half before dropping a 63-56 contest to preseason Mid-American Conference favorite Kent State Saturday afternoon at Worthen Arena. The loss drops the Cardinals to 10-11 overall on the season and 5-4 in MAC play but they remain in first place in the MAC West Division.
“It was obviously a game of two completely different halves for our ball club,” head coach Billy Taylor said. “The first half, we weren't very good, offensively or defensively. We didn't compete the way we needed to against one of the better teams in our conference. The second half, our guys really responded and we really battled. Our seniors led the way and set the tone for competitiveness we need. We played in the paint and got a lot of good things done.”
Senior guards Brandon Lampley (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton) and Rob Giles (Detroit, Mich./Mott CC) both turned in career-high performances as they combined to score 39 points in the loss. The 39 combined points are the second most for a Cardinals' duo this season and the most since the season opener against Eastern Illinois when senior Anthony Newell (Chicago, Ill./Simeon) and freshman Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) combined for 40 points.
Lampley recorded a career-high 21 points as he was eight-of-11 from the field and three-of-four from the free throw line. His 21 points marks just the third time this season that a Cardinal has scored over 20 points in a game. His missed free throw in the second half snapped a stretch of 17 straight free throw makes, as he is 18-of-20 in MAC play from the line. Giles added 18 points in 31 minutes of action as he was six-of-10 from the field and four-of-seven from three-point land.
Ball State opened the game strong as it ran out to an 8-4 lead just under three minutes into the game. Senior guard Laron Frazier (Waukegan, Ill./Highland CC) nailed a three-pointer for the Cardinals' first basket and Giles capped the early spurt with his first long ball of the afternoon.
Kent State (12-11, 5-4 MAC) responded to the early pressure and posted a 21-1 run, including 19 straight points to take a 25-9 lead at the 8:55 mark. The Cardinals missed nine straight shots during the run and committed five turnovers that allowed Kent State to take the double figure lead.
The Cardinals slowed the run with back-to-back three-pointers but the Golden Flashes ran off eight straight to take their largest lead of the game at 35-15 with 2:04 left in the field half. Ball State was able to narrow the deficit to 38-22 heading into the locker room as Giles converted an old-fashioned three-point play.
The Cardinals shot just 31.8 percent (seven-of-22) from the field in the first half and 40 percent (four-of-10) from three-point land. Giles paced the attack with 10 points in the opening frame. Kent State was firing on all cylinders in the first half as it hit 63 percent (17-of-27) from the field and 50 percent (two-of-four) from long range. Chris Singletary scored 12 points in the first half as he was six-of-seven from the field.
The two teams came out of the locker room and traded baskets back-and-forth until KSU nailed a three-pointer to take a 45-26 lead at the 17:38 mark. Ball State showed its mettle as it scored eight straight points and ran off a 16-1 run to pull within four points at 46-42.
Lampley ignited the run as he scored nine points in the spurt and Jones stepped up his game with back-to-back baskets to force Kent State into consecutive timeouts to stop the BSU momentum. The Cardinals' defense forced the Golden Flashes into eight straight missed shots during the run.
Kent State responded to the pressure with a 10-4 run to extend the lead back to double figures at 56-46. The Cardinals continued to battle down the stretch but could not get closer than four points in the final minutes. Ball State out-scored Kent State by a 34-25 margin in the second half but could not overcome the first half deficit.
Ball State finished the game shooting 52.4 percent (22-of-42) from the field after connecting on 75 percent (15-of-20) in the second half. The Cardinals also hit 43.8 percent (seven-of-16) from three-point land as it nailed three long range shots in the second half. Kent State finished 52.1 percent (25-of-48) from the field in the game as BSU held the Golden Flashes to just 38.1 percent (eight-of-21) from the field in the half.
Jones finished the game with six points and eight rebounds, most of which came in the second half. Kent State was led by Singletary's 19 points and seven rebounds as he was eight-of-11 from the field. Julian Sullinger added 13 points while Tyree Evans chipped in 11 points in the victory.
The Cardinals return to action Wednesday night as they travel to Akron, Ohio to battle the Zips. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Rhodes Arena.
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