KALAMAZOO, Mich. - After making a thrilling comeback, Ball State just couldn't come up with one last stop.
The Cardinals erased a 13-point deficit in the second half and staked a 64-62 lead, only to see Western Michigan's Anthony Kann score a 3-point play on a tip-in with 42.8 seconds remaining.
Levi Rost replaced Kann in the lineup and came up with two rebounds and three free throws, and Western escaped with a 70-66 win over Ball State in a battle of West Division contenders.
"If you're going to contend in the MAC, it's tough to lose home games," said Western coach Steve Hawkins, whose Broncos (6-1, 13-2) won for the 12th time in 13 games in front of a season-high 5,064 at University Arena. "You have to take these wins when they come."
Kann tipped in a missed shot by Mike Williams with his left hand while the right arm was being held by Terrance Chapman.
Rost's first two free throws came after Williams harassed Peyton Stovall into missing a driving shot. He then rebounded Dennis Trammell's missed 3-pointer and split another pair. Stovall cut it to 68-66 with a driving bucket, but after Williams hit a foul shot, Trammell was whistled for traveling with 1.9 seconds left.
It was Trammell's only turnover of the game and just the third in the second half for the Cards. The loss, which ended the Cardinals' win streak at five games, drops them to 5-2 in the Mid-American Conference and 8-7 overall.
"We just didn't execute like we needed to in those situations, and that falls on the coach," BSU coach Tim Buckley said. "I've got to do a better job of getting them ready for those situations.
"Obviously I think Western Michigan had something to do with it, but at the same time, we didn't make the plays we needed to make."
Trammell, who paced the Cards with 20 points and three assists, blamed the final sequence on lack of communication.
"We were scrambling a little bit," the junior guard said. "We tried to run a 3-point play, and it didn't work."
It wasn't working for Ball State early in the second half, as the team trailed 50-37 with 12:56 remaining after being down just 35-32 at halftime.
But the Cardinals, who overcame a 25-16 deficit in the first half with a 12-1 run, responded again. Five points from Trammell and four from Stovall made it 50-46.
A pair of Ben Reed treys pushed the margin back to 58-48, and BSU followed with a 16-4 run. Trammell scored the last four points, taking a pass from Stovall underneath for one bucket to tie it and driving for another to break the tie with 58 seconds.
"I think that shows a lot about our character," Trammell said of the comeback. "We never give up; we fight to the end. We have no breaking point, and I think we showed that."
Chapman backed Trammell in the scoring column with 12 points off the bench and matched Cameron Echols by snaring eight rebounds. Stovall (three assists, no turnovers) scored all nine of his points in the second half.
"He was much more assertive (after halftime)," Buckley said of his freshman point guard. "I hope he continues to do that more consistently. He obviously can have an impact on a game."
Kann's double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds) paced the Broncos. Williams added 14, Reed (18.9 average) shot just 4 of 16 and scored 13, while super sub Reggie Berry drilled four 3-pointers.
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