Senior guard Brandon Lampley's pull-up shot from the free-throw line with time expiring glanced off the rim, and his game-winning attempt was no good as the Ball State University men's basketball team lost 56-55 on Saturday at Northern Illinois University to fall to 13-14 (7-7 Mid-American Conference).
"It was a hard fought game on both ends," coach Billy Taylor said. "It was frustrating for us as we were right there and we had a chance to win it at the end with a good look from Brandon Lampley, but he couldn't quite knock it down."
The Cardinals were down by as many as 10 points in the second half at the 7:40 mark with the score 48-38 before closing the game on a 17-8 run to come within one point before Lampley's shot fell to the ground to end the game.
"We put ourselves in that position," Taylor said. "We committed too many turnovers and didn't have enough solid defense to win on the road."
Shooting woes plagued both teams in the first half, as Ball State shot 8-for-23 (.348) and Northern Illinois shot 9-for-29 (.310). The second half was a different story for both teams, as the Cardinals shot 13-for-23 (.565) from the field and the Huskies shot 13-for-22 (.591).
Lampley had a game-high tying 20 points on the day, while fellow senior guard Laron Frazier had 14 points, five rebounds and a team-high three assists. Senior guard/forward Rob Giles had nine points in 18 minutes, while freshman Jarrod Jones was the only other Ball State player to score with four points to go along with a game-high nine rebounds.
The Cardinals hit a season-high eight 3-pointers in the loss and shot 8-for-12 (.667) from beyond the 3-point arc. Lampley was 4-for-4, Giles was 3-for-4 and Frazier was 1-for-3 from 3-point range on the day.
Northern Illinois (10-17, 5-9 MAC) was led by sophomore guard Jake Anderson and senior forward Sean Smith. Anderson had 19 points, a team-high eight rebounds and a game-high six assists and three steals, while Smith tied Lampley for game-high honors with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting on the Huskies' senior day.
Center Ante Dzepina, starting in the place of regular center Sean Kowal who missed the game due to a head injury suffered in the Huskies win over Western Michigan University on Wednesday, added 10 points on 3-of-3 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 shooting from the free-throw line.
Ball State out-rebounded Northern Illinois 17-6 in the second half and finished with a 35-29 advantage on the boards, however, the Huskies outscored the Cardinals 36-22 in the paint. The Cardinals also had 18 turnovers to the Huskies' nine in the game.
"When it comes down to a one possession game and you turn it over 18 times, that is a lot of lost opportunities," Taylor said. "It was all across the board from our guards to our forwards. We have to do a better job protecting the basketball."
Ball State, denied its first three-game winning streak since the 2004-05 season, next plays on Wednesday at Western Michigan.
The Broncos lost at the University of Toledo on Saturday night, meaning even with the Cardinals' loss to Northern Illinois, Ball State retained their one-game lead in the MAC West with two regular season games left until the MAC Tournament.
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