Ball State University
12-10, 6-4MAC
Akron
17-7, 7-3MAC
Men's Hoops Drops Hard Fought Overtime Contest To Akron
February 06, 2010 | Men's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State men's basketball team suffered its first loss to a Mid-American Conference East Division team Saturday afternoon as the Cardinals dropped a 75-70 overtime contest to defending MAC Tournament champion Akron at Worthen Arena. The loss snaps the Cardinals' four-game winning streak and is only their second loss in the past eight games.
"This was a tough loss for us," head coach Billy Taylor said. "We have been in a lot of close ball games the last few weeks and we certainly had confidence that we could pull it out today. You have to give credit to Akron, as they are a championship team that made big shots and big plays when they had to have them."
Sophomore guard Randy Davis (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth) continued his strong play as he led four Cardinals in double figures. Davis scored a team-high 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds and handed out three assists while playing 40 minutes. Junior forward Malik Perry (Philadelphia, Pa./Philadelphia Lutheran) continue to round back into form as he scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds off of the bench. Perry connected on 6-of-9 from the field while playing 28 minutes in the loss.
"We saw what it is like to compete at a championship level today and our program has made tremendous strides to achieve that level," Taylor said. "I am proud of the way our guys competed and hopefully we will get another chance at Akron in the tournament."
Akron (17-7, 7-3 MAC) came out of the gate quickly as it opened on a 9-2 run to force a Ball State timeout. Ball State regrouped and scored four straight points as Perry posted back-to-back offensive put-backs. The Zips extended their lead to 15-6 as they scored six straight points.
Ball State (12-10, 6-4 MAC) started to settle in and pulled within five at 25-20 as Davis got going. Davis scored 12 first half points as he hit 5-of-6 from the field, including 2-of-3 from three-point land. Akron once again responded with six straight before the Cardinals scored six straight down the stretch to pull within 31-26 as Davis and Perry both notched baskets. Akron took a 34-26 lead into the locker room as Anthony Hitchens hit a deep three-pointer as the clock was winding down in the half.
Ball State shot 42.3 percent (11-of-26) from the field and 40 percent (2-of-5) from three-point land in the opening half. Perry scored eight points off of the bench as he was 4-of-6 from the field as he and Davis combined for 20 of the Cardinals' 26 points.
Akron shot 40 percent (14-of-35) from the field and 30.8 percent (4-of-13) from three-point land. The Zips took advantage of eight Ball State turnovers and turned those miscues into 11 points. Also, Akron held a 21-17 lead on the glass with nine of its rebounds coming on the offensive glass. Nikola Cvetinovic paced the Zips with 11 points off of the bench, while Hitchens added seven points.
Ball State came out of the locker room and quickly posted a 7-2 run to narrow the gap to 36-33 with just over two minutes gone in the second half. Sophomore forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) ignited the run as he scored in the paint and Davis nailed his third three-pointer to make it a one possession game.
The Cardinals kept battling and took their first lead of the afternoon as they posted an 11-2 run to take a 49-46 lead. BSU started the run with six straight points as sophomore guard Pierre Sneed (Chicago, Ill./Simeon) scored four quick points. Ball State went ahead for the first time at 47-46 when Perry converted an old-fashioned three-point play with just under 11 minutes to go in the game.
Akron responded with a 7-2 run to retake the lead at 53-51 with seven minutes remaining in the game. The Cardinals kept battling and went to Jones down the stretch as both teams traded baskets back and forth. Akron took a 60-58 lead with 2:01 left in the game when Hitchens nailed a contested three-pointer.
After the Cardinals missed a three-pointer on the ensuing possession, the Cardinals' defense stepped up and forced a shot clock violation to get the ball back with 46 seconds left. Ball State came down the floor and got a huge basket from Jones in the paint with 27.5 seconds left in the game. The BSU defense stepped up once again on the final possession as Hitchens' long three-pointer was off the mark and Jimmy Conyers attempted tip was well wide as regulation ended.
Ball State made the second half comeback in large part to its defense as it limited Akron to just 26.9 percent (7-of-26) shooting in the second frame. The Cardinals offense conversely hit 60.9 percent (14-of-23) in the second half as they out-scored Akron 34-26 in the second 20 minutes. Ball State out-scored Akron 34-22 in the paint, including a 24-6 advantage after the first half.
The two teams came out in the overtime and traded baskets before senior forward Terrence Watson (Detroit, Mich./Univ. of Mississippi) scored on a dunk as senior guard Brawley Chisholm (Bronx, N.Y./Western Texas College) drove into the paint and dished out a nice pass to tie the game at 64-64. The Cardinals took their only lead of overtime with 1:31 left as Jones nailed a jumper to give BSU a 66-65 lead.
Akron responded with an 8-0 run to seal the victory as it took a 73-66 lead with 15.8 seconds left. The key basket in the run came in the beginning as Brett McKnight nailed a long three-pointer from the wing that gave the Zips the lead back for good. Akron hit 7-of-8 free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.
Ball State finished the game shooting 48.3 percent (28-of-58) from the field, but just 27.3 percent (3-of-11) from long range as Davis was the only Cardinal to hit a three-pointer. The Cardinals also hit just 57.9 percent (11-of-19) from the charity stripe in the loss, despite hitting 4-of-5 in the overtime period.
Jones ended the game with a team-high 16 points and eight rebounds as he was 6-of-13 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. He also tallied three blocked shots and handed out two assists. Watson chipped in 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocks for the Cardinals in 42 minutes of action.
Akron finished the game shooting 35.8 percent (24-of-67) from the field and 34.6 percent (9-of-26) from three-point land. The Zips connected on 78.3 percent (18-of-23) from the charity stripe, including 8-of-10 in the overtime period. Hitchens led Akron with 17 points on 5-of-16 shooting while Cvetinovic posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The Cardinals wrap up MAC crossover action Wednesday night as they travel to Kent State for a 7 p.m. tip-off. The game will be broadcast by the Ball State Sports Network (BSSN).
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