Ball State Men’s Basketball (13-16, 8-10 MAC) honored two players for Senior Night, redshirt junior forward Miryne Thomas and redshirt junior center Blake Huggins before a 79-60 loss to Akron (20-9, 13-6 MAC).
Although they each have another year of eligibility, both Thomas and Huggins have been with the Cardinals for four years.
“Guys that wear a black shirt in the weight room for us are guys that are recognized by their peers as leaders on the team and Blake’s been a black shirt guy for us for the past two years in a row,” head coach James Whitford said.
Ball State was led by junior guard Tyler Cochran with 18 points. Thomas added eight points and six rebounds, and Whitford said his passion is the defining part of his playstyle.
“Miryne wears his feelings on his sleeves, you can see exactly how he feels during the entire game,” Whitford said. “But he’s passionate. You love him and he loves you. He’d give you the shirt off his back and he cares.”
The Cardinals fell behind against the Zips early, with Akron holding a 10 point lead with eight minutes left in the first half. The Zips led by as many as 21 points and did not allow Ball State to regain control.
In the first half, the Cardinals shot 2 for 7 from the 3-point line and 6 for 25 from the rest of the field.
Ball State improved its shooting efforts in the second half by going 5 for 12 from the 3-point line and 12 for 27 from the floor. However, it was too late as the Zips outscored the Cardinals 47-40 in the final 20 minutes.
Akron was led by junior guard Xavier Castaneda with a game-high 22 points. Sophomore forward Enrique Freeman finished with a double-double of 18 points and 16 rebounds, while sophomore wing Ali Ali contributed 16 points.
Ball State has clinched a spot in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament March 10-12 and concludes its regular season March 4 at Western Michigan. Tipoff is 6 p.m.
Contact Corbin Hubert with comments at cchubert@bsu.edu or on Twitter @corbin_hubert_.
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