Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
12-6, 4-3
Ohio
17-4, 5-2
Men's Hoops Fights Back Before Falling At Ohio
January 28, 2012 | Men's Basketball
ATHENS, Ohio - The Ball State men's basketball team rallied from a 14-point first half deficit to take a late second half lead, but the Cardinals could not hold on as they dropped a 59-55 decision to Mid-American Conference foe Ohio Saturday morning at the Convocation Center. The loss drops the Cardinals to 12-7 on the year and 4-3 in MAC play while Ohio improves to 17-4 overall and 5-2 in league play.
"Obviously, very disappointed in the outcome of this game," head coach Billy Taylor said. "We got off to a good start and we knew Ohio was going to come with a good push as they play well, especially here at home. We got ourselves in too big of a hole. We should not have fallen down that much but I give our guys credit for fighting back. Our inability to take care of the basketball and the shots we missed in the painted area came back to hurt us in the end."
Sophomore forward Chris Bond (Gary, Ind./Bowman Academy) and senior forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) posted double-doubles in the loss for the Cardinals. Bond scored a team-high 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as he was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line to offset his 3-of-10 night from the field.
Jones recorded his 27th career double-double as he scored 11 points and tied his career-high with 15 rebounds. Bond and Jones are the first Cardinals to post double-doubles in the same game since February 9, 2011 at Bowling Green (Jones and Malik Perry).
The Cardinals came out and opened an early 7-4 lead as Bond scored five quick points, including an old-fashioned three-point play. The lead was short-lived as Ohio responded with 14 unanswered on its way to a 21-4 run as the Bobcats opened to a 25-11 lead. Ohio took advantage of the three-point shot as D.J. Cooper, Stevie Taylor and Ricardo Johnson all hit threes in the run.
Ball State weathered the storm and slowly started to chip away at the double-digit deficit as it posted a 16-7 run to narrow the gap to 32-27 with under a minute to play. Senior guard Randy Davis (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth) hit a pair of three-pointers in the run while freshman forward Aaron Adeoye (Marion, Ill./Marion) scored two baskets off the bench to provide the Cardinals energy.
Ohio's Ivo Baltic hit a jumper at the buzzer to give the Bobcats a 34-27 lead at the halftime break.
Ball State connected on 38.1 percent (8-of-21) from the field and just 33.3 percent (2-of-6) from long range but hit all nine of its free throws in the opening frame. The Cardinals' biggest nemeses were turnovers as they tallied 13 miscues in the first half, leading to 13 Ohio points. Bond paced the Cardinals with nine points while Davis added six points.
Ohio ended the first half shooting 44.8 percent (13-of-29) from the field and 33.3 percent (3-of-9) from three-point land, despite missing its first four long range shots of the game. Will Offutt led the Bobcats with eight points while Baltic added seven in the opening frame.
The Bobcats extended their lead back to double figures early in the second half taking a 43-31 lead with 16:31 left in the game. The Cardinals started to buckle down on the defensive end and found some success on the offensive end.
Ball State posted a 17-5 run to tie the game at 48-48 with 6:22 left in the game Jones nailed a jumper to pull the Cardinals even. Davis got the run going with his third three-pointer while Bond and sophomore Jesse Berry (Lafayette, Ind./Jefferson) converted old-fashioned three-point plays in the spurt.
Ohio answered back with five straight points to take a 53-48 lead after a Nick Kellogg three-pointer. Ball State responded right back as Davis nailed another three-pointer before redshirt sophomore forward Tyler Koch (Winchester, Ind./Wright State) hit his only field goal of the afternoon, draining a three-pointer to give the Cardinals a 54-53 lead.
The Cardinals turned in a strong defensive effort on the ensuing possession as it forced a wild shot from D.J. Cooper, but Offutt was able to coral the rebound and put it in for the 55-54 lead. Jones tied the game once again as he hit one of two free throws before the teams traded turnovers.
Ball State had the ball with the game tied at 55 but Jones was called for an offensive foul on the post-up giving the ball back to Ohio. Offutt converted a three-point play to give the Bobcats the lead with 27.9 seconds left in the game.
The Cardinals had a good look on the next possession as Davis drove the lane and missed before Berry had a good look from three-point land to tie the game, but it was just long hitting the back side of the rim to seal the victory for Ohio.
Ball State finished the game shooting 33.3 percent (17-of-51) from the field and 35.3 percent (6-of-17) from three-point land. The Cardinals were strong from the charity stripe hitting 88.2 percent (15-of-17) but committed 22 turnovers in the loss. Davis finished with 12 points as he was 4-of-8 from three-point land to round out the Cardinals in double figures
Ohio ended the afternoon shooting 40 percent (20-of-50) from the field and 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from long range. The Bobcats scored 17 points off the Cardinals' miscues in the victory. Offutt led Ohio with 13 points and six rebounds while Baltic and Reggie Keely posted 10 points apiece.
Ball State concludes its two-game road trip Wednesday evening as it travels to Buffalo, N.Y. to take on the Bulls. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
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