Robert Owens said Monday that he doesn't have a favorite memory from playing at Worthen Arena -- because there's so many good ones.
His Senior Night performance Wednesday should rank as one of his best recollections, though.
The 6-7 senior notched team-highs of 17 points and seven rebounds, pacing Ball State (13-13 overall, 10-7 Mid-American Conference) to its third-straight win, a 75-47 triumph over Eastern Michigan.
"I definitely wanted to come out and get off to a good start," he said. "I think the focus was playing good defense on their post man, and we knew if we were able to do that it would jump-start our offense a little bit.
"I think my focus was good before the game. I was kind of solemn to myself. I was able to talk to the trainer and one of the refs, and it makes me go out appreciate my last couple games with teammates."
Not only did Ball State shoot its second-best percentage (54.9) of the season, the Cardinals also gave up the least points in a game (they yielded 48 to Anderson) and half (16 in the first half, compared to 20 in the second half at Miami) for this season.
Coach Tim Buckley called it his team's best defensive effort on the season.
"I think (the Eagles) were coming into the game shooting about 45 percent over their last five games," he said. "We knew they were getting good shots inside with their big people. We knew we'd have to help when the ball went inside and I think our guys did a great job of carrying out the game plan tonight."
Eastern's top inside threats -- John Bowler and James Jackson -- combined for 17 points, but on 5-of-18 shooting. Forward Markus Austin led the Eagles (12-14, 6-11) with 11 points, but was hounded all night by Matt McCollom and company. Eastern's 30.2 percent shooting was its worst effort this season.
The Cards' defensive performance also garnered high praise from EMU coach Jim Boone.
"I thought they were outstanding defensively," he said. "That is the most physical, the most aggressive, and the best defense we've played against in the month of February.
"The officials allowed both teams to be aggressive and play basketball. Ball State really took advantage of that, and we did not. They certainly imposed their will on us, and we were never able to get established inside."
Eastern staked out an early 6-1 lead, but it was an uphill battle from there, as the Cardinals took control with a 21-2 run.
Owens started things with back-to-back 3-pointers, one from each corner. Peyton Stovall drove the lane for a hoop, Owens canned a baseline jumper, Skip Mills added a putback and Terrance Chapman drained a trey from the left wing.
After EMU's fifth turnover of the game, Dennis Trammell spun his way in for a bucket. He then countered JaQuan Hart's jumper with one of his own, and Chapman added another for a 22-8 advantage.
With a 10-2 run to finish the half, Ball State carried a 38-16 lead into the lockerroom.
"I think we were real good on offense," said Trammell, who backed Owens with 12 points and four assists. "It didn't matter who was taking the shot, as long as were moving the ball, got the ball to the open guys, crashed the boards."
Eastern cut it to 40-24 with an 8-2 run to start the second half, but would get no closer. A 10-0 Ball State spurt made it 61-34, and Owens capped off his night with a 3-pointer to push it to 66-37. A Trammell putback produced the largest lead (72-42).
Forward Cameron Echols, the other player honored on Senior Night, and Stovall added 11 points apiece, and Chapman chipped in 10.
For Echols, it was the kind of Senior Night he had in mind.
"This is a great win; I think I imagined this in my sleep last night," he said. "The way we played together, it seemed like the season started all over again. We had fresh legs, we executed the plays, we played together and made the extra pass. I was proud of the guys tonight."
"I thought Robert did a great job playing through foul trouble," Buckley added, "and I thought Cameron was really excited to play. He didn't make the shots he normally makes, but it was good nervous energy. Now that's out of the way we can get down to business."
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