Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
13-7, 4-3MAC
Buffalo
11-9, 4-3MAC
Men's Hoops Falls at Buffalo, 76-64
January 26, 2016 | Men's Basketball
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Ball State men's basketball team cut a double-digit Buffalo lead to three in the second half but could not claw any closer, falling 76-64 in Mid-American Conference action.
"I thought Buffalo played a great game," Ball State coach James Whitford said. "They really wore us down in the second half. We couldn't get a stop. We tried everything, and we couldn't get a stop in the final eight or nine minutes. They just kept taking us off the dribble, and that was really the difference."
Jeremiah Davis scored a team-high 13 points, all in the second half, for the Cardinals (13-7, 4-3 MAC). Bo Calhoun recorded his second straight double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Trey Moses also finished with 11 points.
Buffalo (11-9, 4-3 MAC) used an 18-2 run midway through the first half to take control of the game. Ball State rallied late in the half with a 9-2 run of its own and cut the gap to 31-29 when Davis found Franko House for a dunk at the buzzer.
House was saddled with foul trouble and played only 14 minutes.
"We played some really bad basketball in the first half, but we kind of found a way to hang in there because we defended right," Whitford said.
Calhoun opened the second half with a jumper that briefly tied the game, but Buffalo scored six of the next eight points to regain control.
Lamonte Bearden led Buffalo with 18 points and six assists, while Blake Hamilton (14), Willie Conner (12) and Jarryn Skeete (12) also scored in double figures. The Bulls' guards were able to get into the lane and cause problems for Ball State throughout the night.
Ball State trailed by 12 midway through the second half but rallied to make it a three-point game on two occasions. A Davis 3-pointer made it a 61-58 game with 5:49 to play. But Buffalo continued driving the lane and clinched the game by scoring baskets at the rim and getting to the foul line.
Ball State hurt its chances with some sloppy ballhandling, turning the ball over 19 times. The Cardinals also made only 4 of 18 attempts from 3-point range after entering the game as the MAC's top 3-point shooting team in conference play at 41.3 percent.
The Cardinals shot a slightly higher percentage than Buffalo from the floor (48.8 to 47.3) but took 12 fewer shots. They were also outrebounded 33-29.
Ball State returns home to host Akron as part of a men's/women's doubleheader Saturday at Worthen Arena. The action begins at 1 p.m.
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