Last season, the Ball State University men's basketball team was unable to close teams out. The Cardinals suffered nine defeats by less than 10 points on their way to a 9-22 campaign.
The Cardinals saw that again Wednesday night, watching their 15-point halftime lead evaporate to send the game to overtime Wednesday, in which the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee cruised to an 81-74 win against the Cardinals.
Ball State is now 0-2 for the first time since the 1995-96 season.
"It's certainly a heartbreaking loss for our team," Ball State coach Billy Taylor said. "I wish they could have won this game, because they certainly put themselves in position to win it."
The Panthers forced the extra period by making two 3-pointers in the last 10 seconds of the second half, including a running 3-pointer by Panthers' junior guard Ricky Franklin with 0.7 seconds remaining in regulation.
"I did what I could do," guard Laron Frazier, who was defending Franklin on that shot, said. "I contested the shot, and he hit the shot."
The Cardinals led by three going into that possession, but Taylor elected not to foul Franklin, which would have forced the Panthers to shoot free throws.
"I'd rather make a team make a really tough three rather than foul," Taylor said. "I didn't think that was going to work to our advantage."
Taylor made a change in his starting lineup from the opening game against Butler University, as Frazier earned his first career start instead of classmate Brandon Lampley. Frazier responded by scoring 19 points, 11 of them in the first half.
However, down the stretch Frazier, as well as the rest of the Ball State team, deferred to Newell while attempting to hold off the Panthers.
"He's been here, he's our captain," Frazier said of Newell. "He was hitting big shots, so we kept feeding him."
The Panthers' second-half offensive resurgence was defined by their 3-point shooting. After a one of 13 showing in the first half, UW-Milwaukee made eight of 16 long-range attempts in the second.
"We were not nearly as sharp in the second half defensively," Taylor said. "And that started right at the beginning of the second half."
The Cardinals will need to defeat Georgetown University next Wednesday to avoid their first 0-3 start since 1973.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
