Despite scoring 17 points in the final six minutes of play, Chris Williams' offensive performance was not enough for Ball State Saturday evening, as the Cardinals lost to Western Michigan for the second time this season, 86-74.
Williams, who headed into Saturday's contest leading the Mid-American Conference in scoring, finished the contest with a game-high 33 points, 21 of which came in the second half alone. The senior was 13 of 26 from the field and 3 of 7 from 3-point land.
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In the end, however, the same problem that plagued the Cardinals the first time they faced the Broncos struck again -- intensity.
"Western Michigan got off to a great start today and there was no way we were going to overcome the free throw disparity," Ball State coach Tim Buckley said. "In both games this year, they have come out more aggressive than us."-รก
Buckley spoke of the free throw disparity which also continues to haunt Ball State. Saturday, the Cardinals went to the charity stripe only 13 times, while Western had 32 attempts from the free throw line.
There were two other players in double figures for the Cardinals -- Cameron Echols (18), and Robert Owens (10). Echols also tugged down 11 rebounds to mark his 11th double-double of the season.
Another aspect that seemed to hurt the Cardinals Saturday was health. Freshman Kevin Cates, who usually starts for Ball State, saw limited playing time Saturday due to flu-like symptoms. And, about midway through the second half, sophomore Matt McCollom found himself on the bench after aggravating a sprained toe.
Throughout the afternoon, Ball State wasn't really able to get within reach of Western Michigan. For a few minutes in the second half, Ball State pulled within 11 points of the Broncos, but then later fell to as much as a 21-point deficit.
Leading Western Michigan, especially in the first half with 14 points and six rebounds in the first 20 minutes, was Anthony Kann. Finding himself in some foul trouble trying to guard Kahn was Ball State's Tom Howland who got the starting nod in place of Cates. By the 12-minute mark of the second half, Howland had fouled out.
Kann finished with 16 points.
The leading scorer for Western Michigan was Robby Collum with 18 points, six of which came from back-to-back 3-point shots in the final minute and a half of the first half, allowing Western to go up by 15 at the half.
The Cardinals have only two games remaining in regular season play. Wednesday Ball State will head to Toledo, and then the Cards will wrap up the season hosting Central Michigan, the MAC West Division leader, on Saturday.
Heading into those two games, Ball State will continue in their effort to secure a first round home game for the MAC tournament.
"We have to continue to find ways to get better because improvement has been our number one goal since the beginning of the season," Buckley said. "We have to go home, try to forget about this one and regroup for Toledo."
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