Team comparison
Ball State Western Michigan
Points: 48 53
FGM-A: 15-48 (31.3%) 16-41 (39.0%)
FTM-A: 13-18 (72.2%) 18-29 (62.1%)
Rebounds: 30 33
Assists: 8 10
Steals: 3 4
The Ball State men’s basketball team dropped its 13th consecutive game, falling at Worthen Arena to Western Michigan 53-48.
Both offenses struggled in the game’s first 20 minutes, and at halftime the Broncos held a 25-24 advantage.
The score remained close throughout the second half, with neither side leading by more than seven.
With 15 seconds remaining, and the Broncos leading by four, Cardinals’ point guard Zavier Turner went to the foul line for two free throws. After hitting the first, making the score 51-48, Turner missed the second, but junior Bo Calhoun corralled the offensive rebound.
With a chance to tie, freshman Sean Sellers stepped out of bounds on the ensuing inbounds play, forcing Ball State to foul.
“We decided we were going to go for a 3-point shot,” Ball State head coach James Whitford said. “[Western Michigan] sniffed out where [Sellers] was supposed to go and unfortunately he stepped out of bounds.”
The Broncos shot 39 percent, 16 of 41, from the field, while the Cardinals shot 31.3 percent, 15 of 48.
Typical for many of Ball State’s losses, the Cardinals didn’t score 10 points until the 5:30 minute mark of the first half.
Calhoun contributed another strong performance off the bench, finishing with a game-high 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes.
Western Michigan dominated at the foul line, making eight free throws in the final 5:34 of the game. The Broncos outshot the Cardinals by 11 from the charity stripe.
Five Cardinals registered three or more fouls, with forward Franko House and center Matt Kamieniecki earning the maximum five.
Despite fouling out, Kamieniecki returned to the starting lineup after missing the previous five games, and seven of the past nine, due to lower back pain. The fifth-year senior grabbed six rebounds and made two free throws in 20 minutes.
Sellers finished with 13 points, including two 3-pointers, and House chipped in 10 points and four rebounds.
With the loss, the Cardinals fall to 7-19 in the season and 2-13 in the Mid-American Conference.
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