YPSILANTI, Mich. - Ball State University men's basketball senior forward Anthony Newell headed into the locker room at halftime of Saturday's Mid-American Conference opener at Eastern Michigan University beaming with confidence.
The 2008-09 All-MAC Preseason selection accounted for the final seven of the Cardinals' final points in the half, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer. His team held a conference rival to 13 points in the first half. And with seven points of his own in the second half, the team captain would become the 25th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point club.
All hopes of reaching that milestone might permanently be diminished, however, as Newell, the team's top scorer and rebounder, suffered a season-ending broken right leg with 12:04 remaining in the second half of Ball State's 46-42 win against Eastern Michigan.
After connecting on two free throws in the second half, Newell was injured five points away from scoring career point 1,000 on the same day Ball State women's basketball senior guard Porchia Green became the 19th 1,000-point scorer in program history in a win against Western Michigan University. Newell still finished with his 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season.
Coach Billy Taylor said Sunday evening in a phone interview that Newell underwent surgery for the injury at St. Joseph's Mercy Hospital in Ypsilanti - the same hospital Newell and, assistant coach Bob Simmons and he, stayed at Saturday night following the injury.
"It's very disappointing for us as a team and certainly for Anthony," Taylor said. "He's worked hard his entire career here at Ball State, and it's just unfortunate that things have to end this way for him."
After jumping for an offensive rebound on a missed Laron Frazier layup, Newell landed awkwardly in traffic and immediately collapsed to the ground. He was then surrounded by medical personnel in about a five-minute break from the game that had the Convocation Center silent. He was put in a full right leg brace and then carried off the court.
A 2007-08 All-MAC Honorable Mention, Newell had already earned three MAC West Division Player of the Week selections this season. The fifth-year senior is also leading the team in scoring at 15.2 points per game and rebounding at 9.4 rebounds per game.
"It's a huge void, but with that void is an opportunity for other guys in the program to step up and try to fill those needs," Taylor said. "It can't be one person, we need the team collectively to step up and fill what we miss with Anthony."
The broken leg to Newell is the second injury in two seasons for the Chicago native. Newell missed nine games last season with an ankle injury. If he had enough games to qualify for MAC statistics, Newell would have been tied for tops in the MAC last season with 16.9 points per game and second in the conference with eight rebounds per game.
Taylor said Newell's absence will have an effect, and immediately following Newell's injury the void was felt. Although Ball State was leading 33-20 when Newell went down, the team had to withstand a 22-13 run by Eastern Michigan in the final 12 minutes of the second half without him to earn their first conference-opening victory since the 2004-05 season, when Ball State defeated Kent State University at Worthen Arena.
A made free throw by Eastern Michigan sophomore forward Brandon Bowdry with 16:54 remaining in the first half gave the Eagles a 6-5 lead, but a layup on the ensuing possession by freshman center Jarrod Jones put Ball State up 7-6, and the Cardinals would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the game.
Taylor said he was especially pleased with his team's defense in the first half; the Cardinals led 24-13 going into the break. The Eagles (2-13, 0-1 MAC), who are yet to win against a Division I opponent this season, shot 17.4 percent (4-of-23) from the field in the first half and their 13 first half points are the lowest the program has scored in the Convocation Center since the team began playing there in 1998.
"I thought we had a very good week of practice," Taylor said. "I thought it was very physical and intense, and I thought it showed on Saturday as we played terrific defense allowing only 13 points in the first half, fighting through the adversity of Anthony's injury, and still finding a way to win - I was very proud of our guys."
The Cardinals (6-7, 1-0 MAC) had their largest lead of the game at the 18:08 mark in the second half after Jones nailed a jumper to extend the lead to 28-13. The Ball State lead would remain in the double digits until the 8:26 mark, when the effects of Newell's injury were becoming apparent after Eastern Michigan sophomore guard Solomon Farris hit a jumper to cut the lead to eight.
The Eagles cut the lead to four points on a 3-pointer by senior guard Zane Gay with five seconds remaining that resulted in the game's final score.
Ball State returns to play on Tuesday for a home game against Northern Illinois University (5-8, 1-0 MAC).
Taylor said the loss of Newell's presence is tough, but said he is proud of his team's effort on Saturday.
"The win on the road was big for us," Taylor said. "This is a tough place to play, and I'm proud of our guys for playing hard through the adversity."
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