Ball State University
10-5 (1-1MAC)
Ohio
10-4 (1-1MAC)
Kiapway's 21 Not Enough for Men's Hoops at Ohio
January 09, 2016 | Men's Basketball
ATHENS, Ohio -- Francis Kiapway put on a shooting clinic Saturday, but the Ball State men's basketball team couldn't keep up with Ohio in the second half at the Convocation Center.
The Bobcats came out hot after the break and turned a six-point halftime deficit into a 79-73 victory in Ball State's first Mid-American Conference road game.
Kiapway, a sophomore guard, led the Cardinals (10-5, 1-1 MAC) with a career-high 21 points and knocked down 6 of 8 from 3-point range. But Ohio (10-4, 1-1 MAC) outscored the Cardinals 46-34 after the break to emerge.
Ball State struggled to contain Ohio point guard Jaaron Simmons (21 points) and big man Antonio Campbell (27 points), both of whom finished with double-doubles. Together, the pair combined for 60 percent of the Bobcats' points.
"I thought it was a very competitive game, a well-played game by both sides," Ball State coach James Whitford said. "I thought Ohio did a good job, and I thought our guys did a lot of good things. This is a hard place to play. They have a good team, and there aren't going to be many teams that come in here and win."
Three other Ball State players joined Kiapway in double figures – Ryan Weber with 11 points and Trey Moses and Bo Calhoun with 10 each. Moses scored eight of his career-high 10 in the first half.
The momentum swung early after the break with Treg Setty and Campbell doing most of the damage early. Ohio shot 50 percent in the second half but really cleaned up on the glass with 13 second-chance points. The Bobcats held a 40-29 rebounding advantage for the game, becoming just the fourth team this year to out-rebound Ball State.
"The one thing I was really disappointed in was our inability to protect the glass," Whitford said. "If we had been able to hold our own there, I think it could have been anyone's game."
Ball State was still within striking distance in the closing minutes, largely because of Kiapway's shooting. He made five of his 3's and scored 18 of his points after halftime.
"If I guy gets it going, we'll call his number more, but we really just want all our shooters locked in on staying aggressive and taking good shots," Whitford said. "Francis recognized he was feeling it. He did a great job moving without the ball and getting shots."
Kiapway followed his final trey with a steal and assist to Weber to trim the Ohio lead to 73-69 with 1:24 to play, but that was as close as the Cardinals could get.
In addition to out-rebounding Ball State, Ohio became one of the few teams this season to shoot more free throws than BSU. The Bobcats were 25 for 31 from the line, while the Cardinals were 14 for 15.
"We've been a team that out-shoots our opponents from the free throw line by quite a bit," Whitford said. "The fact that we weren't able to do that was, no question, the difference in the game."
Ball State will go back on the road to continue MAC play Tuesday with a 7 p.m. tip at Western Michigan.
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
