When Marshall forward Marvin Black has played well this season, the Thundering Herd has won more often than not.
But while the 6-7 senior matched his career high with 30 points, it was his turnover with two seconds left that sealed Ball State's 79-78 victory at the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, W. Va.
After A.W. Hamilton's 3-pointer brought Marshall within one point, Matt McCollom lost the ball out of bounds with just nine seconds left, although he appeared to be fouled by the Herd's Tre Whitted.
Hamilton passed down low to Black, but Terrance Chapman drew a charge on him to give the Cards (11-13, 8-7 Mid-American Conference) the ball and their second road win in a row.
"Our guys understand when we play through adverse times, we have a chance to be a good basketball team," Ball State coach Tim Buckley said. "The leadership we had from our seniors and juniors tonight was something we really needed."
For a second-straight game, forward Cameron Echols had a hot hand in the first half. The senior scored 14 points, including BSU's first 10, on 7-of-11 shooting. He then spent long stretches after halftime on bench due to foul trouble and added just two points. But unlike Saturday's loss, someone picked up the scoring slack -- two players, in fact.
Guards Dennis Trammell and Matt McCollom notched 14 and 12 points, respectively, after halftime. Their back-to-back 3-pointers gave Ball State a 63-57 lead with 10 minutes left, matching the game's largest lead.
Marshall slowly fought back and forged the game's 12th tie with a pair of Black free throws at the 1:20 mark.
Trammell converted Chapman's offensive rebound into a turnaround hook shot with 52 seconds left. Owens then grabbed a loose ball away from Black and got fouled, hitting both ends of a one-and-one with 23 seconds to go. The Cards then withstood the Herd's last-gasp effort.
Trammell finished with team-highs of 19 points, nine rebounds and three assists. McCollom notched 17, while Echols grabbed six rebounds to go with his 16 points. Freshman point guard Peyton Stovall did not score but dished out nine assists without a turnover. Trammell's rebounds and Stovall's assists marked career-highs.
The Cardinals converted 17 Herd turnovers into 22 points and made 10 of their 11 second-half foul shots.
Black also led Marshall (9-15, 6-9 MAC) with 12 rebounds. Center Mark Patton also racked up a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards. Hamilton scored 16 and handed out eight assists.
With the win, Ball State moved a half-game ahead of Bowling Green and Buffalo for the fifth seed in the MAC Tournament. The Falcons and Bulls have home games tonight.
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