Tuesday, February 18
Buffalo, N.Y.
7:00 PM ET
Ball State University
14-12,7-6MAC
59
at
72
Buffalo
17-9,8-5MAC
1
2
F
Ball St.
29
30
59
Buffalo
29
43
72
Photo by: Paul Hokanson
Buffalo Pulls Away from Ball State, 72-59
February 18, 2020 | Men's Basketball
Cardinals struggle to contain Bulls on offensive glass
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Buffalo entered Tuesday night's matchup as the No. 2 offensive rebounding team in the country at nearly 15 per game, and the Bulls flexed their muscle in that area to earn a split of the season series with Ball State.
The two-time defending league champions turned 19 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points, pulling away down the stretch for a 72-59 win at Alumni Arena.
Ishmael El-Amin scored 18 points and Jarron Coleman 15 for Ball State (14-12, 7-6 MAC), which defeated Buffalo 88-68 in Muncie back in early January.
But Josh Mballa was a force inside for Buffalo with 16 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Bulls (17-9, 8-5 MAC) to this one. He was one of three UB players to finish with 16 points, joining Jayvon Graves and Jeenathan Williams.
"(Mballa's) motor on the glass; he was a nightmare," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "He was a beast inside, and we couldn't keep him or them off the glass."
Ball State had a chance to pull even with idle Northern Illinois atop the MAC West Division standings but instead will enter the final five games of the regular season one game back. The Cardinals will play the remainder of their games against the West Division, starting with Saturday's #MuncieOut contest against an Eastern Michigan team that has won five of its past six.
BSU led by as many as 10 points on multiple occasions in the first half Tuesday behind an early hot hand from Coleman. The redshirt freshman point guard hit five of his first six from the floor on his way to 13 first-half points. But the Cardinals managed just one field goal over the final 6:30 as Buffalo rallied to even the game at 29-all by halftime.
It was a tight game through much of the second half as the teams traded the lead back and forth. But another cold spell hit with eight minutes left and proved too much to overcome as Buffalo turned a 50-48 edge into a double-digit lead.
El-Amin scored 15 of his 18 in the second half, but after he hit a pair of early 3's, Ball State went cold from beyond the arc to finish the night 7-for-28 from deep.
"I felt like we got good shots," Whitford said. "I thought we played the right way on the offensive side of the ball. We broke down eventually on defense."
Tahjai Teague, who scored 25 points in the earlier victory against the Bulls, had only four on 2-of-4 shooting in this one. He pulled down 10 rebounds but fouled out with 5:56 to play. The Cardinals were still within six at that point.
Saturday's #MuncieOut game with Eastern Michigan features special ticket deals, free parking, $1 hot dogs and other promotions. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at Worthen Arena. The Cardinals defeated the Eagles 69-52 last month on the road.
The two-time defending league champions turned 19 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points, pulling away down the stretch for a 72-59 win at Alumni Arena.
Ishmael El-Amin scored 18 points and Jarron Coleman 15 for Ball State (14-12, 7-6 MAC), which defeated Buffalo 88-68 in Muncie back in early January.
But Josh Mballa was a force inside for Buffalo with 16 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Bulls (17-9, 8-5 MAC) to this one. He was one of three UB players to finish with 16 points, joining Jayvon Graves and Jeenathan Williams.
"(Mballa's) motor on the glass; he was a nightmare," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "He was a beast inside, and we couldn't keep him or them off the glass."
Ball State had a chance to pull even with idle Northern Illinois atop the MAC West Division standings but instead will enter the final five games of the regular season one game back. The Cardinals will play the remainder of their games against the West Division, starting with Saturday's #MuncieOut contest against an Eastern Michigan team that has won five of its past six.
BSU led by as many as 10 points on multiple occasions in the first half Tuesday behind an early hot hand from Coleman. The redshirt freshman point guard hit five of his first six from the floor on his way to 13 first-half points. But the Cardinals managed just one field goal over the final 6:30 as Buffalo rallied to even the game at 29-all by halftime.
It was a tight game through much of the second half as the teams traded the lead back and forth. But another cold spell hit with eight minutes left and proved too much to overcome as Buffalo turned a 50-48 edge into a double-digit lead.
El-Amin scored 15 of his 18 in the second half, but after he hit a pair of early 3's, Ball State went cold from beyond the arc to finish the night 7-for-28 from deep.
"I felt like we got good shots," Whitford said. "I thought we played the right way on the offensive side of the ball. We broke down eventually on defense."
Tahjai Teague, who scored 25 points in the earlier victory against the Bulls, had only four on 2-of-4 shooting in this one. He pulled down 10 rebounds but fouled out with 5:56 to play. The Cardinals were still within six at that point.
Saturday's #MuncieOut game with Eastern Michigan features special ticket deals, free parking, $1 hot dogs and other promotions. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at Worthen Arena. The Cardinals defeated the Eagles 69-52 last month on the road.
Team Stats
BSU
UB
FG%
.364
.329
3FG%
.250
.258
FT%
.706
.762
RB
42
51
TO
15
8
STL
5
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
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