In the second chapter of Ball State's book of "The best team in Indiana," the Cardinals fell short much the same way it did against Indiana University.
Butler, much like IU, took Ball State's game away -- the 3-point shot.
Hitting only five of 13 shots from behind the arc, Butler downed No. 21 Ball State 75-66 in front of a sold out crowd at Worthen Arena Wednesday night.
Butler (11-0) turned the tables on the Cards (6-3) finishing the game nailing 12 of 26 3-pointers.
Leading the charge for the Bulldogs was Darnell Archey who drained four 3's on the night.
"We have a lot of confidence in our guys to shoot the basketball," Butler head coach Todd Lickliter said. "We wanted to go to (Archey). We thought we could get him open."
"They have great shooters and excellent spacing," Ball State coach Tim Buckley said. "They have shooters spotted up and they made the looks."
The Cardinals found themselves down by nine at half time 35-26, before mounting a comeback early in the second half.
After what ended up being a near fist fight at half court, on a physical scamper for the ball, the Cardinals went on a nine-point run to bring the score within one point with 14:29 remaining in the game.
That was however, the closest Ball State got to taking control of the game.
Much of Butler's success Wednesday night came with the Bulldog's relentless defense.
"We couldn't really get a chance to shoot like we wanted to," Cardinal Petie Jackson said. "They are a great team that has great defensive principles."
"We really didn't get into the flow of the game with the offense," Ball State center Lonnie Jones said.
One Ball State shooter Butler's defense especially stopped was Chris Williams.
Normally a hot 3-point shooter for the Cards shooting an average of 47 percent, Williams went one for seven from behind the 3-point arc and shot a mere three of 14 from the field. Williams finished with seven points.
"He just wasn't able to get it going like he normally does," Buckley said referring to Williams performance.
Bulldog Rylan Hainje a nearly flawless shooter for Butler in the first half. Hainje went eight for 10 from the field and three for three from behind the 3-point arc.
Hainje finished the half with 19 points and finished the game with 23, the most from any Bulldog.
"(He was) very hot," Lickliter said "Everyone on the floor went to him every time they could. There was no hesitation."
Buckley said some of Hainje's success came in part by the faults of Ball State.
"Hainje is a really good player," Buckley said. "At the same time I didn't feel we put up a good enough fight against him in the first half."
Despite the nine point difference at the end of the game, most involved Wednesday night agreed it was a hard fought, emotional game.
"It's a big time rivalry game," Jackson said. "It was two instate rivalry schools. I think both of us laid it all out on the line. They just got the better end of the stick tonight. (Butler) got the job done tonight."
"I'm a born and raised Hoosier and it sure is special to have two teams of this caliber in this state," Lickliter said.
"We came up here knowing Ball State is real, we have tremendous respect for them. I think that is the reason we played to the level we played."
Despite the loss, Buckley is looking at the bigger picture saying, "This is one game in a long, long season."
"Team goes back to work tomorrow," Buckley continued. "We are going to come back. I'm not concerned."
"We have fallen, but we will rise again."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
