Ball State University
13-15, 7-8MAC
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Western Michigan
10-19, 7-8MAC
Men?s Hoops Drops Overtime Heartbreaker At Western Michigan
March 05, 2009 | Men's Basketball
KALAMAZOO, Mich. ? The Ball State men's basketball team valiantly battled back from a 16-point deficit to take a second half lead before suffering an 84-82 overtime loss to Mid-American Conference West Division rival Western Michigan Wednesday night at University Arena. The Cardinals out-scored the Broncos 47-33 in the second half but WMU guard David Kool hit a shot in the finals second to force overtime.
The Cardinals move to 13-15 overall and 7-8 in MAC play and fall into a first place tie with the Broncos with one game left in the regular season as WMU is now 10-19 overall and 7-8 in MAC play. Ball State still controls its own destiny for the MAC West Division title and the number two seed in the upcoming MAC Tournament as its magic number is one with one game left to play.
“I am very proud of how our guys competed tonight,” head coach Billy Taylor said. “Obviously we built a big hole out there today but our guys really responded. We regrouped and refocused in the locker room and worked to chip away at the deficit. We built a little lead down the stretch but you have to give credit to David Kool for hitting a tough shot, basically at the buzzer to send it into overtime.”
Ball State placed five players in double figures for the first time this season as the Cardinals tied their season-high with 82 points. Freshman forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) played a career-high 40 minutes in the loss as he scored a team-high 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Senior guard Brandon Lampley (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton) continued his strong play as he scored 19 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out four assists and recorded two steals.
Freshman forward Mo Hubbard (Chantilly, Va./Westfield) turned in the best performance of his young career in the loss as he scored a career-high 14 points, grabbed four rebounds, notched two blocks and tallied a steal. Hubbard connected on six-of-11 from the field in the loss and also was two-of-two from the free throw line.
Western Michigan came out quickly to open the game and scored the first five points of the game but the Cardinals responded with seven straight to take an early 7-5 lead. Senior guard Rob Giles (Detroit, Mich./Mott CC) got the scoring going with a three-pointer and Lampley gave BSU the lead with a layup.
The Broncos took the lead back with nine straight points as WMU guard Shawntes Gary started to heat up. Gary scored 11 of the Broncos' first 19 points on his way to 21 first half points. He connected on eight-of-10 from the field in the first half, including all four three-pointers he attempted.
Ball State slowed the game temporarily as Jones nailed a jumper and Giles hit two free throws to pull BSU within seven at 22-15. The Broncos ran off an 8-2 run and entered the locker room with a 38-24 lead. The 38 points are tied for the most the Cardinals have allowed in a half this MAC season, matching the first half output for Kent State.
The Cardinals shot just 31.0 percent (nine-of-29) from the field in the first half and just 28.6 percent (two-of-seven) from three-point land. Lampley led the Cardinals in the first half with nine points while Jones added eight points. Western Michigan connected on 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from the field and 50 percent (six-of-12) from long range.
Ball State came out of the locker room a different team as they quickly narrowed the deficit to 40-32 as senior guard Laron Frazier (Waukegan, Ill./Highland CC) scored on back-to-back possessions. The Cardinals continued to chip away at the WMU lead and pulled within three points at 57-54 courtesy of an 11-2 run to force a WMU timeout.
Giles ignited the run with a three-pointer and Frazier added five quick points. Jones capped the run with back-to-back baskets, including a fast break dunk after a steal by Lampley. The Broncos moved the lead back to five at 61-56 before Ball State took its first lead since the opening minutes with a 12-1 run to put BSU ahead 66-61 with 2:08 left in the game.
Sophomore forward Malik Perry (Philadelphia, Pa./Philadelphia Lutheran) sparked the run as he converted an old-fashioned three-point play off of an offensive rebound. Hubbard tied the game with a jumper from the free throw line and Giles gave the Cardinals the lead with a three-pointer from the wing.
Hubbard scored on two more possessions to put the Cardinals ahead 70-64 with 53.2 seconds left. WMU forward Derek Drews nailed a three-pointer to pull the Broncos within three and Ball State missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw. Kool continued his strong second half as he scored on a drive to pull the Broncos within on at 70-69. The Cardinals committed a turnover on the inbounds play and the Broncos looked to have a chance for the last shot but Hubbard came up with a huge block on Gary in the paint to keep the Cardinals in the lead.
Lampley was quickly fouled and was only able to hit one of two free throws to give Ball State a two point lead with 7.8 seconds left. Western Michigan got the ball in Kool's hands and he was able to hit a contested fade away jumper with 1.3 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 71-71. Jones had a desperation three-pointer rim out to send the game into overtime.
Western Michigan came out of the break and opened the overtime period on a 10-2 run as Kool scored seven of the 10 points. Ball State once again showed its character and battled back in the final 1:14 of the game as it scored seven straight points to pull within one at 81-80 with 22.8 seconds left. Hubbard scored four points in the stretch as the Cardinals took advantage of the full court press.
Western Michigan hit one of two free throws to take an 82-80 lead and set up a potential game-tying shot. Lampley was able to get into the lane and got a jumper off but it hit off the side of the rim and Kool grabbed the board and nailed both free throws to seal the victory.
Ball State finished the game shooting 45.8 percent (33-of-72) from the field and 35.7 percent (five-of-14) from long range. The Cardinals were particularly good in the second half as they nailed 57.6 percent (19-of-33) during their comeback. Ball State also dominated play in the paint in the second half as it scored 24 points in the paint and held a 22-9 second half rebounding advantage, including 10 offensive rebounds.
Giles finished the game with 11 points in a career-high 41 minutes as he nailed three three-pointers before fouling out in the overtime period. Frazier chipped in 11 points and dished out a career-high six assists as the Cardinals had 16 assists on the night. Ball State also protected the ball in the game as it committed just eight turnovers in 45 minutes of play.
Western Michigan finished the game shooting 50 percent (30-of-60) from the field and 47.6 percent (10-of-21) from three-point land. The Broncos hit just 58.3 percent (14-of-24) from the line but Kool led the way as he was a perfect seven-of-seven from the stripe. Gary finished the game with 27 points as BSU held him to six second half points. Kool added 22 points and Flenard Whitfield chipped in 13 points.
The game will also be senior day for the Cardinals' four seniors as Rob Giles (Detroit, Mich./Mott CC), Laron Frazier (Waukegan, Ill./Highland CC), Brandon Lampley (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton) and Anthony Newell (Chicago, Ill./Simeon) will be recognized before the game.
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