While Ball State struggled mightily shooting from the field, it was fortunate to receive plenty of chances without a distorted view of the basket.
The Cardinals (6-4 Mid-American Conference, 9-9 overall) sank 28-of-32 free throws, including a 14-of-14 performance from junior guard Matt McCollom, and held off Akron (4-7, 9-9) in overtime 77-71.
Ball State's proficiency on foul shots, which tied a season-best effort of 87.5 percent, helped overcome 32.8 percent shooting from the field, including 23.5 in the second half.
"When you're not shooting good, that's one thing you have to do," guard Dennis Trammell said. "You've got to get fouled, get to the line, get your rhythm going, and hopefully your shots will start falling.
"That was a good win for us. Hopefully we keep this going. That's big, coming off a three-game losing streak, to get that win, get some motivation and confidence back."
All of McCollom's season-best performance on foul shots came in the second half, after he rattled in a pair of 3-pointers in the first half. He also pulled in a team-high eight rebounds.
"The thing I admired about Matt was when it was winning time, he wanted to take complete responsibility," coach Tim Buckley said. "He wanted the ball; he wanted to get to the free-throw line; he wanted to get the stop; he wanted to get the rebound. That shows a lot about his leadership."
"I guess I was just aggressive in trying to get to the hole," McCollom said. "They switched off a lot on our ball screens, so I just tried to attack them -- try to attack their big guys and see if I can get to the hole. Fortunately I got some fouls going in there."
After fighting nearly the whole second half to gain a lead, the Cardinals missed a chance to avoid overtime when Peyton Stovall's fallaway from the baseline deflected harmlessly off the rim before the buzzer.
Four free throws by McCollom and two from Trammell put BSU up 64-61 with 22.8 seconds remaining. But Akron's Rick McFadden responded by draining a 3-pointer with a hand in his face to tie it 12 seconds later.
"We had some chances there late in regulation and would of put us up three-to-four, on pretty good looks," Akron coach Dan Hipsher said. "You've got to make some if you're going to come in and knock somebody off on the road. And then our achilles, 9 for 17 at the free-throw line."
Robert Owens opened the overtime scoring with a driving hook shot at the 3:10 mark. After a shot-clock violation by Akron, Stovall fed Cameron Echols for a short jumper and a four-point lead.
Owens, Stovall and McCollom all hit a pair of free throws for a 74-69 BSU advantage. Derrick Tarver's layup brought Akron within three, but after Stovall missed two foul shots, the rebound went off McFadden, although Echols appeared to get a hand on it. McCollom added two more free throws and Trammell notched a steal to secure the victory.
"The over-the-back call at the end," Hipsher said of the rebound, "I know Buck was probably so mad at Echols for even attempting to rebound that ball, that he probably wanted to run out and grab him."
Hipsher's team received just 1-of-16 shooting on 3-pointers from his guards, as the Zips struggled against the zone defense Ball State employed in the second half.
"We've been real affective against zones," he said. "We've seen a lot of it. We missed a couple (threes) and we got very tentative. We turned into shot-faking machines."
According to Buckley, the Cards winning demeanor came not from a timeout speech he gave, but one from assistant Scott Bunnell.
"Coach Bunnell went into the huddle with about 15 minutes to go in the second half, challenged our guys about playing like champions, and they responded," Buckley said. "Sometimes, hearing it from a different voice really helps.
"I give him credit for the way he handled it with them, and I give them credit for the way they responded, because we needed something. We needed a spark, because we just weren't playing with that passion and fire."
The victory marked the fifth-straight time Ball State has started the second half of the MAC schedule with a win.
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
