Periods of inconsistency hurt the Ball State men's basketball team during the Great Alaska Shootout.
Stretches of unanswered points by St. John's, Southern Utah and Alaska Anchorage negated strong starts by the Cardinals throughout the tournament, where they went 1-2.
In each game, the Cardinals jumped out to at least a seven-point lead to open the contest. Subsequent runs by their opponents erased the advantage and the momentum.
"From a defensive standpoint, we've come out and really been focused and dialed in the first five minutes or so," coach Billy Taylor said. "We've got to be better in those next stretches, that next five- to seven-minute spurt to continually build upon what those starters do."
Taylor said lapses in Ball State's offense, turnovers and poor half-court defense led to easy baskets in transition by opponents. All three teams answered the Cardinals' opening surge with an equal or stronger scoring tear.
"We have to show that we are capable of putting a team out right away," point guard Randy Davis said. "We can't let them jump back in it, give them life and then have them make a run on us, because then we have to repeat the whole process over."
The Cardinals weren't able to put away teams in the second half when leading, either. On Wednesday against St. John's, Ball State couldn't secure a win despite a six-point advantage with 2:15 left in the game. The Red Storm won 78-73 in overtime.
When the offense is struggling down the stretch, Taylor said he knows teams will make a push, but Ball State needs to do a better job of minimizing the damage.
"We've got to be able to close out better, clearly," Taylor said. "We've got to do a better job of not going 0-5 or 0-6 in possessions. We need to be able to create some offense, get to the foul line and get some points. So that if a team does jump up and make a couple shots, it is more of an 8-5 run than an 8-0 run."
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