Ball State University
10-9, 4-3MAC
Buffalo
10-7, 3-3MAC
Men's Basketball Earns Hard Fought Road Win At Buffalo
January 29, 2010 | Men's Basketball
BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Ball State men's basketball team turned in a gritty performance Thursday night notching a 75-69 Mid-American Conference victory over Buffalo at Alumni Arena, marking their second straight win over a MAC East Division opponent. The victory improves the Cardinals to 10-9 overall on the year and 4-3 in MAC play as they have won four out of their last five contests.
"I am proud of our guys for their performance tonight," head coach Billy Taylor said. "Buffalo is a tough place to play and Reggie does a great job preparing his guys. We knew coming off of two tough losses they (Buffalo) would come out early and we did a good job handling the early pressure. I give a lot of credit to our guards who stepped up tonight and made some big shots and handled the ball pretty well under pressure"
Sophomore guard Randy Davis (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth) led the Cardinals as he scored 14 points and dished out five assists. Davis connected on all four of his three-pointers, including a crucial three-pointer with 1:02 left in the game to put the brakes on the Buffalo late-game run. Freshman guard Jauwan Scaife (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) added a team-high 16 points as he hit 5-of-7 three-pointers as the Cardinals as a team connected on 81.8 percent (9-of-11) from long range
Buffalo came out of the gate quickly as it opened on a 10-4 run to force a Cardinals' timeout just over three minutes into the half. Mitchell Watt highlighted the early going for the Bulls as he scored four quick points before picking up two early fouls.
The Cardinals settled in on the road and started to chip away a the deficit. Scaife and Davis hit back-to-back three-pointers to pull within three at 15-12. The Bulls increased their lead back to five at 27-22 with just over four minutes left in the half as Calvin Betts scored in the paint.
Ball State found its rhythm down the stretch as it closed the half on a 16-4 run to take a 38-31 lead into the locker room. The Cardinals did most of their damage from the free throw line as they scored six straight from the stripe, including four in a row from sophomore guard Pierre Sneed (Chicago, Ill./Simeon). The Cardinals extended the lead to a half-high seven points as Davis nailed a deep off-balanced three-pointer at the buzzer.
Ball State finished the half shooting 57.9 percent (11-of-19) from the field, including 83.3 percent (5-of-6) from three-point land. The Cardinals were strong from the line as they connected on 91.7 percent (11-of-12) and also won the rebounding battle in the first half with a 20-9 advantage on the glass. Davis paced the attack with nine points as he hit all three of his three-pointers while Sneed added eight points.
Buffalo connected on 41.2 percent (14-of-34) from the field in the opening frame and was held to just 12.5 percent (1-of-8) from three-point land. Rodney Pierce, Max Boudreau and Betts all led the Bulls with six points in the opening frame as Buffalo was hampered by foul trouble with four players picking up two first half fouls.
The Cardinals came out of the halftime break and took a 45-35 lead as Scaife nailed a three-pointer to force the Bulls into a timeout. The teams battled back-and-forth for most of the half with Ball State holding a 66-55 lead with 3:57 left in the game.
Buffalo (10-7, 3-3 MAC) turned up the pressure and got the crowd involved as it posted a 10-0 run to narrow the Cardinals' lead to 66-65 with 1:46 left in the game. Sean Smiley scored eight points during the run, including a pair of three-pointers. After the Cardinals called a timeout, Ball State quieted the crowd as Davis nailed a deep three-pointer as the shot clock expired to extend the Cardinals' lead to 69-65 with 1:02 left in the game. The Cardinals were able to ice the game in the final seconds as Davis and Scaife each hit a pair of free throws to secure the victory.
Ball State ended the night shooting 55.0 percent (22-of-40) from the field, including 81.8 percent (9-of-11) from three-point land. The Cardinals were strong from the free throw line as they hit 71.0 percent (22-of-31) and also won the rebounding battle with a 44-30 advantage on the glass.
Sophomore forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) turned in a strong performance as he scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds. He connected on 5-of-11 from the field and 4-of-6 from the charity stripe. Sneed chipped in 11 points while senior forward Terrence Watson (Detroit, Mich./Univ. of Mississippi) added eight points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Buffalo finished the game shooting 36.7 percent (29-of-79) from the field and just 16 percent (4-of-25) from three-point land. The Bulls almost doubled the Cardinals' field goal attempts (79-40) but lost the battle of three-point shots (9-4). Max Boudreau led the Bulls with 15 points and eight rebounds off of the bench while Smiley chipped in 13 points on 3-of-13 shooting from three-point land.
The Cardinals conclude their stretch of three games in six days Sunday afternoon as they battle the Ohio Bobcats in Athens. Game time is set for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast by the Ball State Sports Network.
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