One minute into the second half the Cardinals had dug themselves into a 19-point deficit against in-state rival Butler.
The rivalry game between the two schools seemed a little less intense this time around. It was the first game Ball State University played without star guard Peyton Stovall. A young, raw freshman was plugged into the starting lineup to run an offense he had just begun to learn a month before.
After a struggling first half, Maurice Acker was determined to send a different message to his teammates and the crowd that evening. So, on Ball State's second possession of the half, Acker marched his short 5-feet-8 frame down the court, increasing his speed with every step.
He maneuvered past his defender and slipped into the left side of the lane, turning his body toward the home team's bench. He then clutched the basketball with his right hand, swung it behind his head and hurled it into the out-reaching arms of a cutting Charles Bass who tapped in an open left-handed lay-up.
In one play Acker turned the silent faces of the crowd into a frenzied collage of cheers and screams. The play that happened in a blink of an eye didn't change the outcome of the game, but it changed the man who made it happen.
The flashy and quick style of play was nothing new to the young point guard from Illinois.
From his earliest days playing basketball in junior high to his current starting role on the Ball State's men's basketball team, Acker has either been the shortest player on his team or close to it.
With each new step Acker took in his basketball career, the players around him got bigger, stronger and more intimidating.
But entrenched in his tiny body was a fire that burned brighter and hotter with each new challenge. During his grade school days at Hillcrest High School, Acker was still playing against ballplayers who stood three to five inches taller than him.
His quickness was an asset but not a necessity. He could maneuver around the players his size and take the ball to the basket on each possession and get a quality shot off over the lengthy arms of defenders.
But when Acker started playing AAU ball, he got his first taste of how big a frontcourt basketball player can be.
"In AAU we started playing against guys 6-foot-8 or 6-foot-9 and that was a big wake-up call for me," Acker said. "I couldn't just shoot from anywhere on the court anymore, especially in the lane. I realized I had to work on my game a lot more to get around those guys if I was going to do anything at the next level."
To help Acker reach that level and be successful while playing it, his cousin, Tracy Webster, entered the picture. Webster was a three-year letterwinner at the University of Wisconsin, named the team captain for three of his four years, and won the team Most Valuable Player award in 1992.
Webster still holds the career assists mark (501) at the school and he gained a lot insight into how to play the point guard position successfully in Division I basketball. Acker yearned for the knowledge that was buried away in Webster's backlog of experiences, and Webster tried to get him ready for that next step.
"We talked about strength and how you have to be strong mentally and physically to excel," Webster said. "When you're small you've got to do everything you can to take your guy off the dribble and create plays for your teammates."
Acker loved the new tricks he was learning and Webster told him he must keep adapting just like he did in high school where Acker led his team to a 77-10 record over the course of three seasons.
"I was learning how to be stronger with the ball and how to do different moves when I had been doing basically one," Acker said.
Besides teaching Acker the basics of Division I basketball, Webster also helped out with another decision Acker was facing; which college to attend. Acker was receiving offers from Stanford, Wyoming and nearly every school in the Mid-American Conference to come play basketball for their respective team.
One school in particular showed the greatest interest in Acker or what he calls "the most love." It was the same school where Webster had just completed two years as an assistant coach before leaving for Purdue and then landing at the NCAA-title game bound Illinois Fighting Illini.
Webster told Acker that his previous employer, Ball State, was an attractive offer and the coaches in Muncie would continue teaching Acker the things Webster had taught in a few months. Acker put his faith in what Webster had told him about the school and decided he could fit right in with athletic players the team already had.
Acker entered the Cardinal depth chart as the No. 2 point guard on the team, backing up All-MAC selection Stovall. It was a role he gladly accepted. Acker was pleased to learn from a talent like Stovall and he couldn't wait to hit the hardwood and test his skills against Division I talent.
His first chance to impress occurred during the team's intra-squad scrimmage prior to the season.
Acker wowed fans when he sprinted coast-to-coast with only seconds left on the clock, split two defenders, glided past another and laid the ball up and in while the buzzer blared in the background buried behind the crowd noise.
But it wasn't until a month later that he left a lasting impression on his teammates.
"I will never forget that behind-the-head pass he made to Charles [Bass] down the lane," junior Skip Mills said. "That was just something else to see, particularly in his first game without Stovall, which was a lot of pressure for a freshman. I think that play really shot up his confidence out on the court."
That play was the first time he looked comfortable out on the 94-foot by 50-foot wide slab of wood floor in Worthen Arena, and it certainly wasn't the last time.
It was at Drexel on Dec. 20 that Acker played his style of basketball for a full 40-minute game. He scored 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting, and although the shooting percentage wasn't anything to brag about, Acker knew he had turned a corner.
"In that game, I kind of figured out how to take what I had been doing in practice and take it out on the court," Acker said. "Since then I've gone stronger to the basket and I've been willing to take on just about anybody."
Acker scored in double-figures in five of the next seven games, including a season-high 23 points against Kent State. Just like he had done in junior high and high school, Acker had learned to adapt to his surroundings. Bigger players meant being quicker, stronger and faster.
In conference games this season, Acker is the only MAC freshman ranked in the top 30 in scoring at 14.3 points per game, good for 11th in the conference. He also ranks second in assists per game (5.17) and only one other freshman joins him in the top 15 of that category.
The sudden improvement in Acker's play may have caught fans off-guard but really he's done it all before. He's steadily adapted to everything thrown his way and Webster said he knew he was special when he led his AAU under-16 team to a national championship title.
"I just remember watching him play with that team and thinking this kid is going to be really special," Webster said. "He plays a true point guard style, and that's just making everyone around you better. No one can teach that. That's all him."
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