Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
15-9 (6-5MAC)
Ohio
15-8 (6-5MAC)
Men's Hoops Comes up Short against Ohio
February 09, 2016 | Men's Basketball
By Doug Zaleski
BallStateSports.com
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Ball State men's basketball coach James Whitford said he's going to be haunted by his team's final possession in Tuesday's game against Ohio.
The Cardinals had the ball on their end of the court with 11.2 seconds to play, down by three points. But a bobbled ball, sparking a late delivery to a shooter, disrupted Ball State's chances, and a hurried shot failed to find its mark.
The result was a 72-69 loss to Ohio in Worthen Arena.
"The thing that will haunt me when we watch the game is our performance on the last play wasn't good enough," Whitford said.
The play was designed for Franko House to set a ball screen for Ryan Weber, who would take a pass from Francis Kiapway for a 3-point shot from the right wing. A basket would send the game to overtime. But it took an extra second for Kiapway to control the ball, and Weber's opening closed up.
"Ryan had it one-on-one from 24 feet," Whitford said. "We didn't have many choices."
Weber's shot missed the mark, and Ohio (15-8, 6-5 MAC East) escaped with the road win.
The loss kept Ball State in a first-place tie in the MAC West with Central Michigan, which fell at Eastern Michigan on Tuesday. Northern Illinois joined them at the top after winning at Kent State.
Overall, Whitford said his team's performance on offense was good enough to win the game. The Cardinals shot 51.9 percent from the floor. Even though they hit only 5-of-18 3-pointers three days after making 15-of-30 and went just 8-of-14 at the free-throw line, the third-year coach was OK with the production.
But not with what his team accomplished on defense, particularly against Ohio forward Kenny Kaminski.
Kaminski didn't score in 27 minutes when the Bobcats beat Ball State 79-73 on Jan. 9. On Tuesday, he chucked in 20 points on 5-for-11 shooting from the 3-point line, including a go-ahead shot from the arc with 1:02 left in the game.
"Kenny Kaminski's 20 were the difference in the game," Whitford said. "For us to allow him to get 11 3's off in a game, knowing who he is, there's no way under the sun that should have happened. Too many defensive mistakes, particularly on him. That was disappointing."
Kaminski is Ohio's top threat from the arc, hitting 58-of-160 this year.
"We had a good gameplan on him, but we were just one step slow," Ball State forward Calhoun said.
Kaminski threw a dagger at the Cardinals with his late 3 to break a 67-67 tie. Ball State was switching every pick-and-roll he set, and that was the plan again with just over a minute to go.
But as Ball State's Franko House came off a screen to guard Kaminski, he slipped. That allowed Kaminski to pop out, get the ball at the 24-foot mark and bury the jumper.
"When (House) fell back, Kaminski popped out to the ball and Franko didn't have balance," Whitford said. "It was a broken play. … It was a deep 3, but he was open."
Ball State closed within 70-69 on two Jeremiah Davis free throws before Ohio's Treg Setty hit from 17 feet for a 72-69 lead with 17 seconds to go.
That set up the Cardinals' last-chance possession.
One boost Ball State got was from its bench, particularly Davis and Sean Sellers.
Davis, who didn't play at all in two of the past five games and only 29 minutes in the three others, came up big after sitting out the first half.
He played 11 minutes in the second half, making all four of his field-goal attempts for 11 points. Davis hit a 28-foot 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down to bring the Cardinals within 60-58 with 6:01 left.
"Jeremiah did a great job and kind of carried us back in the game," Whitford said. "I think it's one of the hardest things an athlete has to go through mentally (when they lose playing time) because it's something you really want. It's also such a public forum when it happens."
Sellers appears to be regaining his shooting touch, which was missing for much of the year. He shot 32.4 percent from the 3-point line in his first 18 games, but is 6-for-10 in the past four.
"In this case, I got good looks and hit them," he said.
The sophomore made 4-of-5 shots overall against Ohio, including his only 3 — a 24-footer early in the second half.
"Sean has been playing a lot better basketball for us," Whitford said. "It was great to see him have a good night."
House led the Cardinals in scoring with 13 points. Calhoun had 12 points and 10 rebounds, his fifth double-double of the season. Weber added seven rebounds as the Cardinals won the board battle 31-30 against a team that beat them 40-29 on the boards in their first game.
Ohio was led by 6-10, 260-pound forward Antonio Campbell. He made 10-of-14 shots, including both 3-point attempts, for 26 points while adding 10 rebounds.
The Cardinals will try to retain at least a share of first in the MAC West at 4:30 p.m. Saturday when they travel to Central Michigan.
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