Check out a photo gallery from the game.
Following Ball State's fifth consecutive loss, all coming in Mid-American Conference crossover play, senior point guard Randy Davis sat in the media room and was asked a question about the team's future. In response, he shrugged, put his head down and let out a laugh of frustration before continuing.
"Like [coach Billy Taylor] has said, we just need to put it all together," Davis said. "[Tonight], I let them down with the turnovers. When we get all three phases right, we'll go from there."
Davis' answer came after Ball State's 61-54 loss to Bowling Green on Wednesday at home.
The team consistently talks about playing well in three phases of each game, and those phases are constantly changing.
Wednesday, it was about turnovers, defense and shooting, and Ball State fell short of its goal. Davis accounted for 7 of his team's 18 turnovers while Bowling Green gave it away 13 times.
"Eighteen turnovers tonight is unacceptable," Taylor said. "They weren't trapping a whole lot. We just continue to make the same mistakes."
When Ball State wasn't making careless passes with the ball, the offense looked much improved from previous games.
After shooting under 40 percent the past four games, Ball State shot 45.1 percent from the field against Bowling Green's 2-3 zone.
Sophomore guard Tyrae Robinson and Davis penetrated the Falcons' zone with ease and got into gaps in the middle. Bowling Green defenders shaded to the high side of ball screens when Ball State picked the zone and forced the Cardinals to shoot over big bodies inside.
"We were concerned with their guards' ability to get in the lane and make plays," Bowling Green coach Louis Orr said. "But I thought we did a good job of not giving up cover-down dunks and dribble-drive 3-pointers. If the guards have to make shots in the lane, it's tough some times."
While Robinson hit some tough floaters over the Falcons' athletic front, Bowling Green limited Ball State in those other areas.
The Cardinals shot 23.5 percent (4-of-17) from 3-point range and Preseason All-MAC West Division selection Jarrod Jones had zero points in the first half.
That combination, along with Bowling Green's efficient offense gave the Falcons a 28-24 lead at halftime.
Orr said Ball State took away much of his team's offense and forced them into primarily ball screens. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, pick-and-roll basketball is what they couldn't stop.
"The side ball screen and a weak side duck-in killed us," Taylor said. "It's action that we run and we could not [get it under control]. We gave up way too many easy points."
Despite Bowling Green's effectiveness, Ball State hung around and managed to tie the game at 48 with 4:05 remaining.
Two empty possessions followed before Bowling Green's senior guard Dee Brown hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Falcons up by six points with 2:22 left in the game.
"Dee Brown is a senior and he's one of our best shooters," Orr said. "Players make plays so I give credit to Dee Brown. He hit two 3-pointers to fight off a run and those were big."
Taylor said Brown's 3-pointers were a result of Ball State moving in too far on help defense. On both baskets, Robinson got caught out of position gambling for a steal and then turning his head on defense.
Ball State sucked in too far in because Bowling Green's red-shirt junior forward A'uston Calhoun had been dominating the paint. The Falcons were 1-of-8 from behind the arc to that point, so Taylor said he was playing percentages.
The Cardinals chose to play Calhoun one-on-one most of the game, but neither Jones, freshman forward Aaron Adeoye or junior center Zach Fields could handle him inside.
"A lot of Calhoun's baskets he got two feet in the paint," Taylor said. "Just too deep where we couldn't even get a double team there if we wanted. We were too stretched out from the ball screen defense."
Calhoun scored a game-high 27 points and added nine rebounds.
After limiting Miami's senior forward Julian Mavunga to 10 points Saturday, Adeoye said he backed off what worked then and didn't play his game.
"I should've been more physical with him — work him out of the paint more," Adeoye said. "I just wasn't as aggressive as I usually am. I should have been more aggressive."
Ball State travels to Kent State on Saturday in its last game against the MAC East Division. The team sits at 4-6 in the West Division, one game back from Eastern Michigan for first place.
"Obviously, we're disappointed," Taylor said. "We continue to be close and then let one aspect of the game hurt us."
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