With the manner Ball State men’s basketball lost last Tuesday at Toledo, Saturday afternoon’s match-up with Buffalo was one the Cardinals wanted to win.
However, that was not their only motivation as the 1999-2000 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship Ball State team was honored at halftime. Members including head coach Ray McCallum were in the building and talked to current players today at shoot around.
“I try to explain to these guys that it’s been 25 years since that accomplishment,” Ball State head coach Michael Lewis said. “There's probably not only an athletics team, but probably not a group of individuals, who have had a bigger impact on this university in the past 25 years than that group … When those guys are in the building, and you've got an individual in the building whose jersey hangs in the rafters (McCallum), you got to win on that day.”
The Cardinals (14-13, 7-7 MAC) did just that as they topped the Bulls 80-66. In the win, redshirt senior Ben Hendirks scored his season and career high of 14 points to aid the red and white.
“It's awesome and [I'm] thankful for my teammates,” Hendriks said. “I wouldn’t have scored 14 points without them.”
The battle between the Cardinals and the Bulls (8-19, 3-11 MAC) opened with contested play as the visitors led 6-5 in the early going. However, that was the last lead for the blue and white as Ball State led for the rest of the way.
This was due to a few things. First, Ball State’s offense was successful in the first half due to many contributions. Eight Cardinals scored in the period, with Hendriks and junior guard Juanse Gorosito each leading the team with eight.
“You need [everyone]. It's the dog days of February,” Lewis said. “Guys are tired [and] that's why you gotta try to stay as mentally sharp as possible. The mental [aspect] to the physical as four is the one. These guys hear me say it a lot and you gotta fight mentally to continue to put yourself in a [good] position.”
The second thing the Cardinals used was the free-throw line. Ball State is the No. 4 team in the nation for getting to the foul line. While the Bulls took advantage of the officials’ whistles as well — there were 48 fouls called and 62 free throws shot — the red and white went 26-for-36 (72.2 percent) with senior center Payton Sparks leading the way, going 6-for-8.
Though the Cardinals never lost the lead after the first few minutes of the contest, the Bulls did come within three in the second half and only trailed 71-66 with 1:40 remaining in the game. This was when Ball State’s free-throw performance came in clutch, not allowing Buffalo to find the spark they needed to steal the lead.
In the win, Sparks led the team with 18 points. Junior guard Jermahri Hill recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
With the victory, Ball State is now the No. 6 team in the MAC. However, their road to the conference tournament in Cleveland, Ohio does not get any easier. In their final four games, they play the MAC’s No. 1 team Akron (21-5, 13-0 MAC) — that game will be played in Worthen Arena Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. — and end the season at Miami (20-7, 11-3 MAC), the conference’s No. 2 seed.
To the Cardinals, the mindset and the goal is simple.
“We know what's at stake,” Sparks said. “That’s just gotta motivate you more as a team. We just gotta keep working and we're moving in the right direction.”
To their third-year head coach, they should have all the motivation in the world. If they don’t, he said they could ‘make something up.’
“I always believe in creating a cause, whatever it is,” Lewis said. “I'm an ultra-competitive dude, so if I go to the golf course, I'm making something up in my head about who I'm playing with to get the fire going. Like, I got problems.
“If that's what we got to do, then I'm all for it. But I would think that just going out and competing and having the opportunity to play college basketball is enough, especially when you have an opportunity to chase what these guys are getting the opportunity to chase.”
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu or via X @ZachCarter85.
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