After falling in back-to-back Mid-American Conference (MAC) games, Ball State men’s basketball head coach Michael Lewis said his team wanted to change things for the future.
Before today’s contest in Buffalo, the players talked about what that looked like.
“We were just tired of getting beat, man,” senior center Payton Sparks said. “We said ‘We're gonna step up defensively.”’
Sparks himself followed the blueprint as he scored a career-high 27 points — he also recorded a double-double with 14 rebounds — and after a 30-8 scoring run, the Cardinals used both factors to take down the Bulls 89-76.
“We did a lot of things right,” Lewis said. “...And I’m really proud of how these guys gathered themselves from that time out on to finish the half the right way and kind of put the game in a position where we could win it.”
From the opening tip, it was all Sparks as the 6-foot 10-inch big-man scored Ball State’s first eight points of the game. His rebounding performance started early as he was all over the boards and gave the Cardinals many second-chance opportunities.
The guy simply wanted to find the win column.
“I just tried to be aggressive as much as possible,” Sparks said. “Teammates put me in good spots. So that was good, but I just wanted to dominate and just win.”
For most of the first half, it was a competitive match between the two MAC teams. But when the media timeout at the 7:43 mark stopped play, it was the moment Ball State needed. To end the half, the Cardinals went on a 30-8 scoring run to open the contest.
“[The team] really picked up their intensity on the defensive end and we were able to flip what we were getting on the glass,” Lewis said. “...They drew a line in the sand and said, ‘This is what it's going to be today.”’
While Sparks put on a dominant showing in the win, other Cardinals found momentum in the run. Junior guard Jermahri “Fatt” Hill finished the game with 18 points and five rebounds. Though the guard is known to be aggressive when it comes to dunk attempts, that didn’t stop today.
He attempted one SportsCenter Top 10 slam in the first half but left the game after injuring his ankle. However, he returned after halftime and tried another one. He made contact with a Bull on both plays, but whistles were never blown.
“I'm just jealous [that] I could never jump like that,” Lewis said. “I mean, he tried to dunk on the whole state of New York on the one … Maybe those officials are a little envious of Fatt trying to get up there as well. But he continued to make good plays, and you know, most of us never did that on anything other than a Nerf goal.”
Hill said he’s not going to stop hunting the rim.
“I'm just going to keep going [for them]. They are going to fall,” he said.
But Lewis admitted he couldn’t complain about foul calls as the Cardinals visited the foul line frequently, going 25-for-35.
Other Cardinals who stood out in the victory were redshirt senior forward Mickey Pearson Jr. with 19 points and graduate student guard Ethan Brittain-Watts with 10 and four assists.
The Cardinals are 1-2 in their last three games against Buffalo, Western Michigan and Northern Illinois. Those teams have a combined conference record of 8-20. But the road does not get any easier as the MAC’s No. 7 Cardinals’ next contest is a road game Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. They will be taking on the MAC’s No. 1 seed, Akron (16-5. 9-0 MAC).
“I think they're a very talented team,” Lewis said. “They were on the TV when we were eating dinner last night. I've been able to watch them a few other times. Obviously, [they’re] playing at a very high level. We got a ton of respect for their program, but we only get one chance to play on Tuesday. [Have to] try to fight and compete.”
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu or via X @ZachCarter85.
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