With the band chanting, "We're not gonna take it," Ball State University senior point guard Peyton Stovall connected on a meaningless layup off an offensive rebound with 2:03 remaining in Wednesday night's game.
The bucket, which pulled Ball State within 22 points of Western Michigan University, did prevent the Cardinals from setting a bit of history, however. Stovall's two points gave Ball State 43 on the night, ensuring the Cardinals wouldn't produce its lowest point total since 1957.
It was that kind of night offensively for the Cardinals, who recorded their 13th loss of the year with a 71-45 home defeat to the Broncos.
"I thought our cutting wasn't very good, and I thought our screens weren't very good," Ball State coach Billy Taylor said. "We were very tentative offensively against a very aggressive defensive team. When that happens, you're forced further from the basket, you have poor spacing and you get worse shot selection."
The Cardinals shot 23.1 percent from the field and continually struggled to find open shots, finishing with five assists compared to 17 for the Broncos.
Despite shooting a combined 7-of-24 from the floor, Stovall - who led all scorers with 18 points - and Newell combined to post 31 of Ball State's 45 points. Compared to Western Michigan, which had four players score at least 10 points, the Cardinals' scoring tandem were the only two to finish in double figures. The Broncos also outscored Ball State 26-3 in bench points.
"I feel for Billy," Western Michigan coach Steve Hawkins said. "He's got their kids understanding their roles, but they are a little bit limited offensively, especially if they have to go too far into their bench. If you get into a situation where the opponent knows what you're going to do in a tight ball game in the last two minutes, it can make life miserable for you."
Despite Stovall and Newell's shooting, Hawkins had high praise for Ball State's leading scorers.
"I told our team [Tuesday] night in a team meeting that if ever team in the conference were allowed to put their two best players forward, there's no team in the league that would have anything on Peyton Stovall and Anthony Newell," Hawkins said. "Those two kids could go up against any other two players in the conference and have success."
Both Stovall and Newell were less than impressed with their individual efforts. Instead of blaming their supporting cast for not generating points, Stovall said he needs to do a better job of getting his teammates in position to score.
"Any guy on this team can score," Stovall said. "We just have to find a way to get them the ball in a better position. We need to do a better job of penetrating and kicking so guys can get open looks."
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