Before the ball dropped in Times Square and the year 2025 arrived, Ball State struggled with Anderson University – a Division 111 team – on New Year’s Eve. Cardinals’ head coach Michael Lewis was frustrated with the performance and was worried about their upcoming Mid-American Conference (MAC) season.
But in Ball State’s first game of the new year and conference season, the red and white showed something new: grit. With that and determination to turn things around after a 6-6 start to the campaign, the Cardinals knocked off Kent State 75-67 on the road this afternoon.
“We've been able to do difficult things once or twice, but to come in here and to play the way that we did… they had to do difficult things over and over and over and over, and they got rewarded for that,” Lewis said. “That's a happy-ass locker room right now, and it should be.”
Lewis said the last few days have been filled with good practices and high spirits. But according to him, the staff didn’t have to change much of anything.
“Listen … Tigers don't change their stripes,” Lewis said. “We practiced well the last couple days, and their attention to detail to our preparation [was better]... They prepared the right way, and just their commitment to getting better is something that I'm very, very pleased with.”
Coming into the game, Kent State was the No. 1 team in the conference based on its non-MAC record (9-3). But that didn’t bother the Cardinals as they jumped to an 11-2 lead in the first five minutes. However, the Golden Flashes did not hesitate after the uppercut and battled back to just trail 14-13.
“We knew they were going to be a tough team,” redshirt senior forward Mickey Pearson Jr. said. “In the past, they've always had pretty tough teams, so we knew it was going to be a pretty tough game.”
For the entire first half, there were four lead changes as the Golden Flashes were able to secure a 31-26 lead late in the half. But as Lewis said, the Cardinals found ways to ‘do hard things.’ After a few baskets and a 3-pointer by graduate student guard Ethan Brittain-Watts, Ball State led at the break 36-31. They led for 13:09 in the period.
In the second half, the Cardinals only took 17 shots, going 10-for-17. But the Golden Flashes did not follow that play style as they went 13-for-37 in the half. Part of this was due to the red and white forcing negative shots. Pearson Jr. was one Cardinal who had multiple plays on defense.
“I’m just trying to bring intensity on defense,” he said. “I know I had a big assignment with [one of their] best players on that team.”
He finished the game with two blocks and had nine points on offense. Junior guard Jemahri Hill led the Cardinals with 18 points. Following him was graduate student guard – and former Kent State player – Jeremiah Hernandez with 13 points, which tied his season high for points.
“We had a sit down after [the] Edwardsville [game], and he pointed the thumb instead of the finger,” Lewis said. “He's really improved and I was really proud of him tonight, because a lot of times you see in these situations, guys come in and try to do too much, or play out of character.
“The guy just competed, man. You could tell how important this was, and that's got to be his approach from here on out… He's got to be good. Like [Pearson], he was fantastic. He's got to be good. When you have guys in roles where it requires responsibility, there's some accountability that comes along with that. When you're depended upon, you have to deliver. And these guys delivered today.”
But there were still some things the team struggled with. Ball State is the No. 17 team in the country in turnovers per game, and today, the issue continued. The Cardinals finished the game with 23 turnovers, their highest amount of the season.
“To turn it over 23 times and still win the game is amazing,” Lewis said. “...They're a good defensive team. I thought we had some poise in a lot of different situations in our attack, and how we wanted to attack… The last two minutes weren't pretty.
“You got to be able to execute better in those situations. You got to go through those things together sometimes, to learn and grow from them. I thought some of our turnovers were unforced, and those are the ones that you get upset with.”
Though the team and coaches alike were happy with the result, the Cardinals know the season doesn't end today. There are still 17 MAC games remaining and then if things were to go their way, possibly more games in the MAC Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio.
“I just remind them how they got there. ‘Like, how did you play this one?” Lewis said. “There's some guys exhausted. Well, guess what? That's what winning feels like, and you got to look back at why you haven't felt that way in the past. That's what it takes.
“Winning and being successful takes what it takes. There are no shortcuts. To be able to embrace those difficult things is something where we took a big step today. We got to continue it [and] we can't take a step back.”
The Cardinals will return to MAC play when they host Miami at Worthen Arena Tuesday, Jan. 7. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
“When we return to Muncie, the maturity has got to come back in,” Lewis said. “This can't be the highlight of our season.”
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu or via X @ZachCarter85.
Read More
Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau resigns as Liberal Party leader
By Staff Reports / 5 hours agoCanadian Prime Minister Trudeau is set to resign as Liberal Party leader, effectively ending nearly a decade in power.
Wapahani's Nate Luce voted as Delaware County Athlete of the Week
By Staff Reports / 19 hours agoWapahani senior boys’ basketball player Nate Luce was voted the Delaware County Athlete of the Week for the week of Monday, Dec. 23 to Saturday, Dec. 28.
