Ball State University
15-13 (8-7MAC)
Toledo
4-26 (1-14MAC)
Men's Basketball Falters At Toledo, 45-42
February 28, 2010 | Men's Basketball
TOLEDO, Ohio - The Ball State men's basketball team suffered a 45-42 Mid-American Conference loss Saturday night against Toledo at Savage Arena. The loss drops the Cardinals to 15-13 overall and 8-7 in MAC play. Ball State remains in first place in the MAC West Division, tied with both Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan.
"Overall our effort was pretty weak tonight," head coach Billy Taylor said. "I give Toledo credit as they were able to hold on down the stretch but we played scared tonight. We were scared to make shots and we just played tentative on both ends of the floor. We looked like a team that was scared to go out and compete and that is what disappoints me the most."
Ball State shot just 26.7 percent (12-of-45) from the field in the loss and only 8.3 percent (1-of-12) from three-point land. The Cardinals trailed by 15 points at halftime before out-scoring the Rockets 27-15 in the second half as the rally came up short.
Toledo (4-26, 1-14 MAC) opened the game scoring the first five points before sophomore guard Randy Davis (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth) converted an old-fashioned three-point play. The Rockets extended the lead to double figures as it posted a 15-4 run to take a 26-10 lead with just under four minutes left in the half. Toledo entered the locker room with a 30-15 lead as Justin Anyijong scored with 5.7 seconds left in the half.
Ball State hit only three field goals in the first half as it hit just 15.8 percent (3-of-19) from the field and missed all seven three-point shots. The Cardinals also turned the ball over nine times in the opening frame as they scored their lowest first half total since scoring 14 points at Central Michigan (1/13/10). Davis led the Cardinals with seven points as he was a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line as BSU hit 81.8 percent (9-of-11) from the charity stripe.
Toledo connected on 48 percent (12-of-25) from the field and 50 percent (4-of-8) from three-point land in the opening half. The Rockets were led by Jake Barnett, Justin Griffin and Jay Shunnar who all scored six points in the first half.
The Rockets extended the lead to 18 points early in the second half at 35-17 as Anyijong scored the first five points of the half for Toledo. The Cardinals started to chip away at the deficit as they posted an 8-2 run to pull within six at 39-33 with 4:28 left. Freshman guard Jauwan Scaife (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) scored four points in the run to key the spurt.
Toledo answered back with four straight to take the lead back to double figures but Ball State's full court pressure started to take effect down the stretch. The Cardinals scored six straight points to pull within four at 43-39 with one minute left. Scaife and Davis nailed a pair of free throws each while sophomore forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) scored in the paint.
The Rockets hit two free throws on the ensuing possession but Ball State answered right back as Scaife nailed a three-pointer to narrow the gap to 45-42. The Cardinals' defense stepped up with a steal on the next possession but Davis' jumper was stopped by an Anyijong block. Toledo gave the Cardinals' two more chances in the final 15 seconds as it missed a pair of free throws, but Ball State's final two three-pointers were off the mark sending the Rockets to victory.
Davis led three Cardinals in double figures as he scored a game-high 14 points while grabbing eight rebounds. He connected on just 3-of-10 from the field but was 8-of-10 from the free throw line as BSU hit 77.3 percent (17-of-22) from the charity stripe. Jones posted a double-double in the loss with 13 points and 11 rebounds while Scaife ended with 11 points. Sophomore guard Mo Hubbard (Chantilly, Va./Westfield) added four points and six rebounds off the bench for the Cardinals.
Toledo finished the game shooting 38.6 percent (17-of-44) from the field and 31.3 percent (5-of-16) from three-point land. Anyijong led the attack with 13 points and seven rebounds while Shunnar added eight points and six rebounds off the bench.
The Cardinals close out the regular season Thursday night when they travel to Kalamazoo, Mich., for a meeting with MAC West rival Western Michigan at 7 p.m.
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