MEN'S BASKETBALL: Ball State's offensive tear continues in win over Western Michigan

KALAMAZOO, Mich.–Western Michigan’s Austin Richie trailed off in the postgame press conference as he tried to explain the athleticism and quickness of Ball State’s guards.

 

After one year of watching Randy Davis methodically execute the Cardinals’ offense every possession, Tuesday’s game showed the sophomore guardhow different their attack is, even from earlier in the season.

 

“Randy Davis would play more conservative, but Jauwan is coming down and playing with no conscience,” Richie said. “Berry has always played like that. They’re a tough team, they’ve got tough pieces and when they’re moving at that speed, they’re hard to stop.”

 

The Cardinals (14-14, 7-8 MAC) newly discovered run-and-gun style couldn’t be stopped in Tuesday’s game, as the team’s early lead proved enough to ward off the Broncos (18-11, 9-6 MAC) late surge for an 89-85 win.

 

Western Michigan’s physicality kept the game close most of the first half before starters Shayne Whittington, Nate Hutcheson and Richie all went to the bench with two fouls.

 

That’s when Ball State opened the game up in transition.

 

The team went on a 14-0 run starting at the 6:40 mark of the first half, pushing the Cardinals’ lead to 12 points over the next three-plus minutes.

 

“We did not do well from free-throw line to free-throw line when they pulled down a rebound,” said coach Steve Hawkins. “It wasn’t that we weren’t back, it was that we weren’t matched up. You can’t do that with the way they’re playing right now. They’re throwing deep outlet passes and we weren’t in the proper position.”

 

The Broncos’ poor positioning left them scrambling to get back to cover the paint, particularly in the first half. Their confusion led to 15 combined dunks and layups by the Cardinals.

 

Even when Western Michigan did get back, Ball State’s spacing on the break opened up shots.

 

Junior guard Jesse Berry got most of them, pouring in 13 of his game-high 28 points in a half where the team scored 40 points and shot 51.6 percent (16-of-31) from the field.

 

“They’re getting out more than they have in the past and their athletes are taking over the game,” Hawkins said.

 

That athletic advantage continued to show itself in the second half as Ball State added to its 12-point halftime lead.

 

Senior guard Jauwan Scaife and the rest of the Cardinals started pressuring the Broncos on offense, jumping passing lanes and limiting space between themselves and the Broncos’ball handlers.

 

“We tried to be more aggressive and get them out of their motion offense,” Scaife said. “We tried to bite on a lot of opportunities and get a lot of steals. Because of their motion offense, we had a lot of guys behind us, so if we didn’t get it, we could recover and we were able to get them out of it.”

 

Ball State maintained control of the game behind its defense, pushing its lead to 19 points by the 9:05 mark.

 

Western Michigan had only trimmed that lead to 18 less than two minutes later, but that’s when Whittington started establishing himself inside again.

 

Over the next 1:43, the Broncos center scored six points of his career-high 28 points in the team’s 11-0 run to bring the game within seven points.

 

Ball State pushed the lead back up to double digits shortly after, but the run got the crowd back into it.

 

At the 2:01 mark, Western Michigan got the lead to nine points and it was a mad scramble to the finish.

 

Scaife and Berry carried the Cardinals down the stretch with their combined 25-of-30 foul shooting, but the team’s poor defense in the final two-plus minutes allowed the game to get within three points several times.

 

“Free throws are one of the things that ice games and determine games,” Scaife said. “I was confident, so I was just trying to get the ball and step up and hit them like I usually do.”

 

Scaife finished 21 points and junior forward Majok Majok added 11 points and 14 rebounds as Ball State won its first game in Kalamazoo since the 2004-05 season.

 

Despite the loss, Western Michigan clinched the MAC West Division title and a No. 3 seed in the MAC Tournament.

 

Ball State will get the No. 5 spot and a bye into the second round of the MAC Tournament if Buffalo loses at Bowling Green on Friday and the team wins against Northern Illinois on Saturday.

 

No one the Cardinals roster had ever won in University Arena before Tuesday, including coach Billy Taylor. It was enough to make even a normally serious Scaife open up after the game.

 

“I hate splitting, I just hate losing period,” Scaife said. “The fans are really into it and the atmosphere and environment are good [up here]. It’s always good to come into a place like that and get a win. It makes you want to smile a little bit.”

Comments

More from The Daily






This Week's Digital Issue


Loading Recent Classifieds...