Ball State University
7-19 (2-13MAC)
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Western Michigan
17-11 (8-7MAC)
Men's Hoops Falls Just Short versus Western Michigan
February 24, 2015 | Men's Basketball
By Doug Zaleski
BallStateSports.com
Perhaps it might surprise some Ball State men's basketball fans that one of the team's most steady players in the past five weeks has been Bo Calhoun.
While the Cardinals have been mired in a losing streak that started Jan. 14, the junior forward has put together a consistent performance in the second half of the season.
Calhoun showed that characteristic again Tuesday night when he scored 15 points on 5-for-9 shooting, grabbed seven rebounds – both team highs – and tied his career high with a team-best three assists.
But it didn't prevent Ball State from falling 53-48 to Western Michigan in Worthen Arena.
"He's been really good for us, and the fact he can shoot is good for us," Cardinals coach James Whitford said. "The 3 that Sean Sellers got in the corner (in the second half), the only reason he got that is Bo is a capable 3-point shooter and (Western Michigan) was forced to rotate up. He can create shots for other guys."
Calhoun is averaging 11.9 points and shooting 48.5 percent from the field in the Cardinals' past 11 games. In the team's first 15 games this season, the South Bend (Ind.) Washington product averaged 5.8 points.
Calhoun came off the bench against the Broncos after starting the previous five games for injured center Matt Kamieniecki. He has scored in double figures in nine of the past 11 games. In the first 15 games of the season, he hit double figures just twice.
Calhoun said he hasn't done anything different to boost his offense, but playing more in the absence of Kamieniecki has given him an opportunity to find a rhythm.
"Franko (House) and Francis (Kiapway) are always in my ear, and we have these competitions and talks," Calhoun said. "They'll be like, 'You know you have to produce on the court now.' That keeps me going. They let me know what I'm doing wrong and what I'm doing right."
The Cardinals (7-19, 2-13 MAC West) trailed much of the game and never took a lead in the second half. But they stayed within striking distance with a defensive effort that pleased Whitford.
"I thought we fought our tails off," he said. "I was proud of the way we competed. Our defense got right, and at the end of the day that's the most important thing for us. Our defensive effort was outstanding."
The Broncos came in as the third-best shooting team in the Mid-American Conference (.465) but hit just 39 percent against the Cardinals. They made only 3-of-13 3-pointers.
Ball State had a chance to tie the score in the final seconds when a missed free throw by Zavier Turner was batted out of bounds by the Broncos (17-11, 8-7 MAC West). That gave the Cardinals the ball under their basket trailing by three points with 14.1 seconds to go.
But the opportunity slipped away as Sean Sellers stepped out of bounds while getting behind the 3-point line in the right corner. That gave the ball back to the Broncos, who sealed the win with two free throws with 11 seconds to go by Austin Richie.
"We tried running a special play, something we don't normally run because we had already run 17 (out-of-bounds) plays in the game," Whitford said. "We drew something up to wrap Sean back on the play … but (Western's) David Brown sniffed it out and went right where Sean was supposed to go.
"Sean stepped about 2 feet farther out and stepped out of bounds."
Sellers finished with 13 points and Franko House had 10. Kamieniecki returned to the lineup after a five-game absence with a back injury and contributed six rebounds in 20 minutes.
Kamieniecki tweaked his back in the first six minutes and grimaced his way through the game, according to Whitford. With only three regular season games remaining, the coach said it's unlikely Kamieniecki will take any more time off.
"I sensed he was really hurting out there, and we'll see where he is (Wednesday)," Whitford said.
Ball State will play its final road game of the regular season at 7 p.m. Saturday at Toledo.
