Saturday, January 6
Muncie, Ind.
2:00 PM ET
Ball State University
10-5, 1-1MAC
63
vs
83
Buffalo
10-5,2-0MAC
1
2
F
Buffalo
43
40
83
Ball State
25
38
63
Photo by: Timothy Sofranko
Winning Streak Ends as Men’s Hoops Falls to Buffalo, 83-63
January 06, 2018 | Men's Basketball
Sean Sellers makes five 3’s, scores 17 points in BSU loss
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Ball State men's basketball team saw the nation's seventh-longest winning streak come to an end Saturday.
The Cardinals suffered an 83-63 loss to Mid-American Conference East Division favorite Buffalo, putting an end to nine straight wins. It was BSU's first defeat since the day before Thanksgiving.
"I credit Buffalo," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "This was a big game for both teams, and I thought they played a great game. They really threw us on our heels, and I thought we got rattled and kind of lost our composure, especially in the first half."
Ball State (10-5, 1-1 MAC) struggled to its worst shooting half of the season to open Saturday's game. The Cardinals made just 24 percent from the floor on the way to a 43-25 halftime deficit.
BSU picked it up in the second half and cut the lead to 53-42 at the 14:34 mark on Sean Sellers' fourth 3-pointer of the day. But Buffalo (10-5, 2-0 MAC) answered with a 3-pointer from Jayvon Graves and seemed to answer any time Ball State looked primed for a rally.
"I thought in the second half for 15 minutes we played the game the right way," Whitford said. "They're a good team; it's not easy to crawl back from 18 down. In the second half, we were more like ourselves for a good stretch, and it was an even game during that stretch. But to beat a team like Buffalo, you have to play that way for 40 minutes."
Sellers made 5 of 8 from beyond the arc to reach 200 3-pointers for his career, joining teammate Francis Kiapway in that club. It's the first time Ball State has ever had two players on the same roster with 200 career treys.
The Cardinals shot 41 percent from 3-point range as a team but struggled inside, especially during the first half. BSU finished the day making 14 of 41 (34 percent) inside the arc.
Sellers led the way with a season-high 17 points, while Kiapway scored nine. Tahjai Teague and Tayler Persons added eight each.
Trey Moses grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for his fifth straight game in double figures on the glass, but Buffalo outrebounded Ball State 44-34 for the game.
Buffalo placed five scorers in double figures, led by Graves and Jeremy Harris with 16 points each. Nick Perkins had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
"They're tough," Whitford said. "They're physically very strong, and they play very physical. And we did not handle it well. I thought when we started to climb back in it a little bit, we kept getting beat on the glass, and that was disappointing."
Saturday's game was the last of six straight at home for Ball State. The Cardinals will hit the road twice next week, visiting Ohio on Tuesday and Western Michigan on Saturday.
The Cardinals suffered an 83-63 loss to Mid-American Conference East Division favorite Buffalo, putting an end to nine straight wins. It was BSU's first defeat since the day before Thanksgiving.
"I credit Buffalo," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "This was a big game for both teams, and I thought they played a great game. They really threw us on our heels, and I thought we got rattled and kind of lost our composure, especially in the first half."
Ball State (10-5, 1-1 MAC) struggled to its worst shooting half of the season to open Saturday's game. The Cardinals made just 24 percent from the floor on the way to a 43-25 halftime deficit.
BSU picked it up in the second half and cut the lead to 53-42 at the 14:34 mark on Sean Sellers' fourth 3-pointer of the day. But Buffalo (10-5, 2-0 MAC) answered with a 3-pointer from Jayvon Graves and seemed to answer any time Ball State looked primed for a rally.
"I thought in the second half for 15 minutes we played the game the right way," Whitford said. "They're a good team; it's not easy to crawl back from 18 down. In the second half, we were more like ourselves for a good stretch, and it was an even game during that stretch. But to beat a team like Buffalo, you have to play that way for 40 minutes."
Sellers made 5 of 8 from beyond the arc to reach 200 3-pointers for his career, joining teammate Francis Kiapway in that club. It's the first time Ball State has ever had two players on the same roster with 200 career treys.
The Cardinals shot 41 percent from 3-point range as a team but struggled inside, especially during the first half. BSU finished the day making 14 of 41 (34 percent) inside the arc.
Sellers led the way with a season-high 17 points, while Kiapway scored nine. Tahjai Teague and Tayler Persons added eight each.
Trey Moses grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for his fifth straight game in double figures on the glass, but Buffalo outrebounded Ball State 44-34 for the game.
Buffalo placed five scorers in double figures, led by Graves and Jeremy Harris with 16 points each. Nick Perkins had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
"They're tough," Whitford said. "They're physically very strong, and they play very physical. And we did not handle it well. I thought when we started to climb back in it a little bit, we kept getting beat on the glass, and that was disappointing."
Saturday's game was the last of six straight at home for Ball State. The Cardinals will hit the road twice next week, visiting Ohio on Tuesday and Western Michigan on Saturday.
Team Stats
UB
BSU
FG%
.477
.365
3FG%
.500
.409
FT%
.733
.667
RB
44
34
TO
10
14
STL
9
8
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's BasketballF
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