The two shortest players on the men's basketball team are stepping into bigger roles for their team.
With the loss of starting point guard Peyton Stovall for the rest of the season, freshmen Maurice Acker and Brandon Lampley will have increased playing time for the rest of the season.
Acker, the 5-foot-8-inch starter, and Lampley, the 6-foot backup, are both being shoved into the limelight after Stovall went down with an ACL injury on Nov. 26. Acker's a true freshman while Lampley joined the team as a walk-on. Lampley said their coaches have full confidence in both of them leading the team into today's game at IUPUI.
"The coaches really believe in both of us that we can step in and be contributors to this team right away," Lampley said. "We're both coming into the games believing that we belong and that we can play at a high level all the time."
Acker played 30 minutes in the loss to Butler on Saturday and it was evident that he didn't feel comfortable until the second half. He finished the game with eight points, all in the second half, while leading the team with four assists and shooting 3-of-5 from the field.
"In the first half, I didn't really push the ball as much as I should have and I take the blame for that," Acker said. "It was a lot different coming out seeing 6,000 people in the stands. It was my first start so I was a little nervous and it took a while to get used to it."
Coach Tim Buckley said Acker was "disinterested" in defense against Butler but he expects the point guard to get better with experience. Acker started for nearly all of his high school career at Hillcrest High School and the longer he stays on the court, the more comfortable he gets with teammates.
Near the end of the second half against Butler, Acker threw a no-look behind-the-head pass to junior Charles Bass for a lay-up that excited the crowd and the team. Acker said people in the stands and his teammates should look for similar plays to come.
"I do plays like that to get the crowd and team going so we can get on a little run," Acker said. "You'll see a lot of passes like that now that everybody on the team is ready to get passes like that. The guys are starting to expect them more and more."
Lampley's play is less flashy than Acker's, but as long as he can get the ball to his teammates he'll be happy. The guard relieved Acker for eight minutes during the Butler game and stole the ball once while dishing out one assist.
"When I come in to replace Maurice, I want to keep the level the same at the point position," Lampley said. "Coaches and everybody want me to focus on making solid plays because solid plays can lead to big plays. When I come in I want to be a plus guy and not a minus guy."
INDIANA-BALL STATE GAME
Ball State's home game against Indiana on Dec. 31 will have a different start game time.
The original scheduled time of 4 p.m. has been moved to 6 p.m. so the game can be aired on the Ball State Sports Network.
Ball State ticket manager Rob Richards said there are about 1,000 student tickets that remain for the game.
Students must have a ticket to get into the IU-Ball State game and should go to the lower level of Worthen Arena to pick up a ticket. Students can get one ticket per student ID for a reserved seat in the student section.
Richards said bleacher seats that cost $25 are also still available to the general public.
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