Saturday, January 30
Akron, OH
2 p.m.
Ball State University
6-8,4-5MAC
42
at
74
Akron
10-3,8-2MAC
1
2
F
Ball St.
16
26
42
Akron
34
40
74
Short-handed Cards Drop Game At Akron
January 30, 2021 | Men's Basketball
AKRON, Ohio - Dressing just nine scholarship players, a short-handed Ball State men's basketball team dropped a 74-42 final at Akron on Saturday. Ishmael El-Amin led the Cardinals with 13 points.
Missing five rotation players - including leading scorer K.J. Walton and leading rebounder Miryne Thomas -Â the Cards made it difficult offensively early for Akron (10-3, 8-2 MAC), which had just 11 points after 10 minutes of play. The Cardinals (6-8, 4-5 MAC) also held the conference's leading scorer, Loren Jackson, to five points below is 20.9 average.Â
El-Amin's team-high performance came on 6-for-15 shooting (5-for-10 from 2-point range). He also had three assists, meaning he scored or assisted on nine of Ball State's 17 field goals. Ball State shot 34% on the day with 18 turnovers.Â
TURNING POINT: A bucket by Jarron Coleman got Ball State within 15-13 with 7:11 left in the first half, but Akron took control of the game in the closing minutes of the first half. The home team went on a 17-0 run over 5:54 and finished the half on a 19-3 run to put Ball State down 18 at the half.Â
STRAIGHT FROM THE COACH: "Obviously, it was a hard game for us," head coach James Whitford said. "We were out of rhythm and out of sync. lt looked like a game from early November at times. We played Akron when they're clicking and that was the story of the game. We really looked out of rhythm in the first half. In the second half, i thought we played the right way on offense - we had a lot of good possessions. It was just that our rhythm and timing were off. We were missing the final plays of possessions."
Jackson led all scorers with 16 and Michael Wynn added 10 for Akron, which has won six straight games.
UP NEXT: BSU plays at home Tuesday night vs. Buffalo at 6 p.m. It's only the third home game for the Cards since Dec. 12. Two home games have been postponed, causing BSU to play five of its last six on the road.
Missing five rotation players - including leading scorer K.J. Walton and leading rebounder Miryne Thomas -Â the Cards made it difficult offensively early for Akron (10-3, 8-2 MAC), which had just 11 points after 10 minutes of play. The Cardinals (6-8, 4-5 MAC) also held the conference's leading scorer, Loren Jackson, to five points below is 20.9 average.Â
El-Amin's team-high performance came on 6-for-15 shooting (5-for-10 from 2-point range). He also had three assists, meaning he scored or assisted on nine of Ball State's 17 field goals. Ball State shot 34% on the day with 18 turnovers.Â
TURNING POINT: A bucket by Jarron Coleman got Ball State within 15-13 with 7:11 left in the first half, but Akron took control of the game in the closing minutes of the first half. The home team went on a 17-0 run over 5:54 and finished the half on a 19-3 run to put Ball State down 18 at the half.Â
STRAIGHT FROM THE COACH: "Obviously, it was a hard game for us," head coach James Whitford said. "We were out of rhythm and out of sync. lt looked like a game from early November at times. We played Akron when they're clicking and that was the story of the game. We really looked out of rhythm in the first half. In the second half, i thought we played the right way on offense - we had a lot of good possessions. It was just that our rhythm and timing were off. We were missing the final plays of possessions."
Jackson led all scorers with 16 and Michael Wynn added 10 for Akron, which has won six straight games.
UP NEXT: BSU plays at home Tuesday night vs. Buffalo at 6 p.m. It's only the third home game for the Cards since Dec. 12. Two home games have been postponed, causing BSU to play five of its last six on the road.
Team Stats
BSU
UA
FG%
.340
.491
3FG%
.182
.320
FT%
.571
.526
RB
30
40
TO
18
11
STL
4
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
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