The Ball State University men's basketball team lost 62-58 to host Bowling Green State University in Wednesday night's Mid-American Conference action at Anderson Arena.
With the loss, the Cardinals fall to 9-9 overall and 4-2 in MAC play, but remain in a tie with Western Michigan University atop the MAC West Division standings.
"[Wednesday] was another tough game in the MAC," coach Billy Taylor said. "I thought we made a few too many mistakes in terms of some of our defensive assignments, and I give Bowling Green credit for taking advantage of it."
Ball State, which never led in the game, trailed 60-53 with 29 seconds remaining in the game before freshman guard Randy Davis scored five straight points on a driving layup and a long-range 3-pointer to cut the Falcons' lead to 60-58.
On the ensuing in-bounds play the Cardinals were then forced to foul Bowling Green sophomore forward Chris Knight, who would hit two free throws to ice the game for the Falcons.
Leading Ball State was freshman center Jarrod Jones with a game-high 15 points and eight rebounds. Senior guard Brandon Lampley added 12 points and two steals for the Cardinals, while sophomore forward Malik Perry had six points, five rebounds and three assists.
The Cardinals were playing without senior guard Rob Giles. Giles - who replaced leading scorer and rebounder Anthony Newell in the starting lineup after Newell suffered a season-ending injury on Jan. 10 - had a bruised left shoulder in practice Tuesday, Matt McCollester, assistant director of communications for Ball State, said. Giles was a game-time decision against Bowling Green and is expected to be in action on Saturday.
For Bowling Green (10-9, 3-3 MAC), which shot 21-of-42 (50 percent) from the field, junior center Otis Polk had a team-high 13 points.
"Bowling Green really attacked us inside," Taylor said. "They typically play inside-out type of basketball and their posts did a good job of getting deep post position. That is where our mistakes occurred because we weren't in good defensive position"
The Cardinals return to play on Saturday as they host Ohio University.
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