After Sunday's game between Ball State and Miami, BSU senior Chris Williams explained he felt like he had disappointed his team the first time the two rivals met.
In that game on Jan. 25, Williams scored just eight points and the Cardinals lost by two, 58-56.
Sunday, Williams disappointed no one.
In one of the Mid-American Conference's most heated rivalries, Williams exploded for 39 points, leading Ball State to a 78-70 win over the RedHawks.
"Some of my guys are very forgetful," Miami coach Charlie Coles said. "I told you Chris Williams did that to himself the first game, he was very passive," Coles said of Williams' eight points in the teams' first meeting. "This game he was very aggressive. We didn't have the aggression to match it."
Williams' 39 points on Sunday sits at No. 2 on his highest point totals this season, second only to his school-record 48 points at Akron on Jan. 4.
"I played horrible at (Miami's) place," Williams said. "I came into today's game with some motivation. I was going to play my part and more."
Williams was perhaps most happy with the offense he was able to create in the first half, a time he has seemed passive in the past.
"I don't want to be known for being a person who just shows up in the second half," Williams said. "I wanted to come out and produce in the first half."
Even with 39 points on Sunday, and 28 points against Ohio on Thursday, there is something else that Williams has done that pleases Ball State coach Tim Buckley.
"I think most importantly is that he has back-to-back games with five assists," Buckley said. "He has been able to score the ball at that rate and still give up five assists.
"It helps when he has a wide range focus as opposed to just trying to score the ball," Buckley said.
Williams' 39 points was the story of the game. However the contest was not without other happenings, most of which came in the way of officiating.
There was a technical foul handed to each of the two team's benches, one in each half. By the game's end, four players, two from each team, had fouled out. And there were a combined 52 free throws shot between the two teams.
Coles, who stood a good majority of the first half pleading with officials on various calls, expressed his concern after the game.
"The only complaint I have, there has to be more consistency from one game to another," Coles said. "You've never heard me complain, but there has got to be more consistency.
"Because, what do I tell my team?" Coles said. "I thought early on, we struggled because we did foul an awful lot."
Buckley, who spent a good deal of the second half pleading, chose to smile and say "no comment."
Leading the Cardinals from the charity stripe was Williams, who made 14-of-15 attempts. Matt McCollom followed by making 8-of-10 shots from the line.
"It always helps when the right guys get fouled," Buckley said. "(Williams) is one of the better shooters in the conference and Matt is becoming a better shooter.
"They wanted to make those free throws and they made some tough ones with fatigue," Buckley said.
Ball State's eight-point win did not come easy. In the first half, the Cardinals surmounted a lead as big as 17 points. In the second half, the Cards led by 18.
The RedHawks however, refused to roll over.
Miami tied the game with nearly seven minutes remaining in the game with a 3-point shot from Josh Hausfeld.
Hausfeld was the second leading scorer for Miami finishing with 18 points - 12 of which came from behind the 3-point arc.
Leading the RedHawks in scoring was Juby Johnson with 22 points. All of his points came in the second half, after he picked up two fouls in only six minutes of play.
Sunday's win for Ball State (10-11, 5-6) marks the second in a row of a three-game home stand. Ball State will play that third game on Wednesday against the MAC's most successful team thus far - Kent State. The Golden Flashes are 17-3 overall and 10-2 in MAC play.
After Sunday's game, McCollom, who finished with 20 points, said he feels his team is getting where it needs to be.
"We just wanted to win this," McCollom said. "We have to take advantage of the home court right now because we need as many games as we can get right now.
"We keep getting better as defense. Our goal is, by the time the tournament starts, to be clicking so we can make a run in the tournament."
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