Team comparison
Ball State vs. Akron
24 – Fouls – 2915 – Turnovers – 8
The first three seconds were a microcosm of the entire game.
Ball State senior center Majok Majok couldn’t handle the opening tip, and the ball quickly found its way into the hands of Akron guard Deji Ibitayo running hard at the rim.
Ball State’s freshman guard Zavier Turner ran back to defend, but was easily thrown aside by Ibitayo’s 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame.
The Cardinals matched the Zips blow-for-blow in the second half, but couldn’t contain the team’s size and physicality, losing 68-72 in its Mid-American Conference opener.
“Coming in, we knew it was a physical team,” senior forward Chris Bond said. “We wanted to come in and match that or exceed it. If you back down, it’s going to be an easy game for them.”
Both teams traded fouls in the first half — a combined 20.
With a smile on his face, Akron head coach Keith Dambrot said his message to his team at halftime was to “quit fouling.”
At the beginning of the second half, officials stepped in to curb the physical play. Prior to that, the crowd became increasingly upset at the officiating. Two double technicals were called within four minutes of each other.
One was called on Majok, the other on freshman guard Mark Alstork.
By the end of the game, the officials had called 53 fouls in total — 29 for Akron and 24 Ball State. Ball State freshman forward Franko House fouled out with 4:31 to play in the game.
The physical play noticeably affected Turner’s game, especially in the second half. One of Turner’s strengths is his quickness off the dribble, and the size and length of Akron forced him to adjust his layups in the paint.
Turner consistently tried to draw contact on drives against Akron. For the most part, it didn’t work. Turner shot just two free throws in the contest.
He finished the game 2-of-8 from the field with five turnovers and three assists.
“I think he did pretty good [responding to Akron’s physicality],” Majok said. “I didn’t think he had a good game, but he kept playing hard.”
Dambrot was nothing but complimentary of Ball State.
“Those guys are good players, they’re just young,” he said. “You have to be patient. I know the fans don’t want to hear that, but you have to be patient.”
Akron shot 3-for-23 from 3-point range in the game, partially because of Ball State’s defense and partially due to shots not falling.
“We were trying to be very careful to make sure we didn’t run in [into the paint] on certain guys,” Ball State head coach James Whitford said.
Whitford mentioned Akron’s Reggie McAdams and Jake Kretzer as players Ball State tried to run at when they drove toward the paint.
Of McAdams and Kretzer’s 14 combined field goal attempts, 10 came from long range. Kretzer made the pair’s only 3-pointer.
“Our job was to try to make those guys score inside the arc,” Whitford said. “I thought we did a good job on them.”
After the game, it was clear Ball State was proud of its performance against the back-to-back MAC East regular season champions, but by no means satisfied with a loss.
“I feel like we really competed,” Whitford said. “The good news is, we know we can play a lot better in our locker room.”
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