Ball State University
Buffalo
Cardinals' Rally Falls Short in MBB Loss to Buffalo
February 04, 2015 | Men's Basketball
By Doug Zaleski
BallStateSports.com
Despite his team's current losing streak, Ball State men's basketball coach James Whitford says he can measure progress in the program.
That was evident in spurts Wednesday night when the Cardinals rallied from a 15-point deficit early in the second half to close within two points with 10 seconds left.
But Ball State couldn't finish off the comeback and fell 82-78 to Buffalo in Worthen Arena for its seventh consecutive defeat.
Whitford sees hope despite the struggles on the scoreboard.
"I know where we were and where we are now and the adversity we're dealing with to get through it … we're moving in a good direction, and our guys understand that," he said.
The second-year coach rattled off several players he feels are getting better with about a month left in the regular season.
"Franko (House) is better now than a month and a half ago," Whitford said. "There's no one in here that would tell you different. Is Bo Calhoun better now? No question. Sean (Sellers) is one of the 500 most offensively efficient players in all of college basketball as a true freshman."
Yet there continues to be a missing ingredient between playing hard and coming close, and playing with consistency.
Against the Bulls (15-6, 6-3 Mid-American Conference East), it was the visitors' 14-1 scoring advantage over the Cardinals (7-13, 2-7 MAC West) from the 8:27 mark to the 3:56 juncture in the first half that bothered Whitford. Ball State turned a four-point lead into a nine-point deficit in that stretch.
"We really lost our composure," Whitford said. "We gave up transition baskets we shouldn't have given up. We started forcing things and you could feel the game slipping away from us. That wasn't just the story of this game; that has been the story of our year."
Ball State eventually got back into the game with a more level performance in the second half. The Cardinals turned the ball over only five times after halftime, had 10 offensive rebounds and made 6-of-13 shots from the 3-point line.
Their determined play impressed Buffalo coach Bobby Hurley, an All-American point guard at Duke in the early 1990s.
"I respect teams that play hard, and they play hard," Hurley said. "They're physical and they screen and get good movement. They've been in a lot of games. They're going to compete hard and be in a lot of games."
A 3-point basket by Zavier Turner with just 16 seconds left in the game and a layup by Turner sandwiched around a Buffalo turnover allowed Ball State to close its deficit to 80-78. But two free throws by the Bulls' Lamonte Bearden with 9 seconds to play sealed the outcome.
"We just wanted to come out strong in the second half, and sometimes – we joke about it – I feel when we're down we play better in the second half when our backs are against the wall," House said. "We have to play strong in the first half and play strong in the second half without our backs against the wall."
Sellers led five Cardinals in double figures with 19 points. House had 17 points, nine rebounds and career highs in assists (5) and blocked shots (3). Francis Kiapway and Calhoun each had 12 points, and Turner chipped in 11.
Calhoun also grabbed 11 rebounds for his third double-double in the past five games. The Cardinals played much of the night without starting center Matt Kamieniecki who was limited to only five minutes with a bad back.
Shannon Evans led the Bulls with 25 points, and Justin Moss had 17 points and nine rebounds.
The Cardinals will try to halt their losing streak in a home game at 2 p.m. Saturday against Toledo.
