With a chance to tie the game Tuesday night, Ball State University senior guard Peyton Stovall stood at the free throw line with 5.9 seconds left, hoping to add to his legend.
However, he couldn't convert on the game-tying attempt, and after a full-court race by freshman guard Melvin Goins fell short as time ran out, Northern Illinois University escaped the Cardinals with a 60-58 victory.
Ball State coach Billy Taylor was not available for comment after the game.
Ball State, which fell to 2-3 in the Mid-American Conference and 3-14 overall, spent the first 15 minutes of Tuesday's game trailing as the Huskies stormed to a 26-8 lead.
The Cardinals climbed back into the game behind junior forward Anthony Newell, who, after not scoring in the first 15 minutes, rattled off 11 points in the final five minutes of the first half on his way to a game-high 24.
The Cardinals began the second half allowing Northern Illinois to build its lead back up from nine to 16 points before two fast-break layups by junior guard Laron Frazier ignited another Ball State rally, this one a 9-0 run.
Ball State used a slew of Huskie turnovers to take a one-point lead with two minutes to go. Northern Illinois turned the ball over 19 times to Ball State's five for the game.
The Cardinals snagged the lead on an alley-oop play, with Stovall tossing the ball to Newell for the dunk.
Northern Illinois's Egan Grafel scored, however, and was fouled with 20 seconds to play to provide the winning margin.
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