Ball State University
7-22 (2-16MAC)
Northern Illinois
14-15 (8-10MAC)
Kammy's Career Night Can't Lift Men's Hoops over NIU
March 06, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Ball State, seeded 12th, will open the Mid-American Conference Tournament at 7 p.m. Monday at No. 5 seed Bowling Green. The winner will advance to the second round Wednesday in Cleveland.
By Doug Zaleski
BallStateSports.com
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Northern Illinois men's basketball coach Mark Montgomery took a moment Friday night to salute Ball State's Matt Kamieniecki after the senior center dug deep to produce one of his most memorable performances.
Battered and bruised by various injuries during his career with the Cardinals, Kamieniecki put all that aside and battled admirably to try to help his team break a losing streak.
But not even a career-high 21 points by the Clarkston, Mich., product could keep the Cardinals from falling 71-67 in overtime against the Huskies in his final game in Worthen Arena.
"He's a guy, hurt back and all, taking charges; I think he tried taking three or four charges," Montgomery said. "He's banging oversized guys. He's a Michigan guy, I'm a Michigan guy. I followed him when he was at Clarkston.
"You just love to see a kid do everything he can for his team. He put his team first. Playing through injury isn't easy. He looked like he had a little extra step, extra bounce to him because that dunk was powerful."
Kamieniecki appeared especially energized for his Senior Night game. In the first three minutes, he scored twice down low. Later in the opening half, he took a charge, and six seconds later turned a long pass from Francis Kiapway into a thundering dunk.
"It doesn't surprise me because that's who he is, but I couldn't have predicted it before the game," Cardinals coach James Whitford said of Kamieniecki's performance. "I didn't know if he was going to play four minutes, honestly, because sometimes after three minutes his back just isn't working."
Everything was working in this game. Kamieniecki made 8-of-10 field goals for 21 points in just 20 minutes of playing time. A career 50 percent shooter at the free-throw line, he made all five of his attempts against the Huskies (14-15, 8-10 MAC West).
"I don't know if I've coached a guy who, in my opinion, is a better competitor than Matt, more unselfish than Matt, who embodies all the intangible qualities you're trying to get a team to do – and he has them all," Whitford said. "You can see the difference he makes in our team, and his back was hurting, to say the least."
Added Cardinals forward Bo Calhoun: "We tried our hardest to send him out right. He means a lot to this program and our team. We tried to do the right thing for him."
Despite the superlatives being thrown at him by coaches and teammates, Kamieniecki was disappointed his effort didn't contribute to a victory.
The Cardinals will go into the MAC Tournament at 7 p.m. Monday at Bowling Green 7-22 overall after finishing as the 12th seed with a 2-16 conference mark.
"I'm just happy to go out with these guys and play as hard as I could," Kamieniecki said. "Unfortunately, we didn't get the win."
The Cardinals had their best chance in a while to get a win after rallying from a 55-50 deficit with 1:12 left in regulation. They were still down, 57-54, when freshman Sean Sellers tied the score with a 3-pointer from the right corner with 9.4 seconds to go.
"He hit a big shot," Montgomery said. "That's a deep 3 down by three points and under pressure. Big shot. Big moment. He's going to be a big shot-maker in the future."
The Cardinals fended off a potential game-winning drive by Northern Illinois' Travon Baker, but couldn't claim the win in overtime.
The Huskies outscored Ball State 11-1 at the free-throw line in the overtime period.
Franko House backed up Kamieniecki with 13 points, Sellers added 12 points and had a team-best seven rebounds, and Calhoun chipped in 10 points. Jeremiah Davis had five assists.
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