The pause button was hit on MAC (Mid-American Conference) play on Saturday afternoon for Ball State (11-12, 4-6) in their second matchup of the MAC-SBC (Sun Belt Conference) Challenge. The Cardinals dropped their first game of the challenge to Georgia State and hoped to split against Southern Miss (10-15, 5-7). Ball State was able to get back in the win column against the Golden Eagles with a 77-76 victory.
Having to play a non-conference game in the middle of the conference season is a hard shift to adjust to. With the way the challenge is set up, Ball State head coach Michael Lewis voiced his displeasure with the setup.
“I’ve made it pretty well known that I don’t like playing this in February,” Lewis said.
Both teams started similarly on offense, with poor shooting and turnovers. Through the game's first eight minutes, each side hovered around 30% shooting and combined for eight turnovers.
Despite the slow start to the game, the Cardinals seemed to have some extra energy when making hustle plays. At points during the season, making the extra effort has been in question for the red and white, but that extra effort was being made by multiple players throughout the first half diving after loose balls and getting to the rim for offensive boards as well.
“We just needed to put the line down and start hustling,” senior center Payton Sparks said. “We got beat the last game in the 50-50 balls and hustling and doing extra things. I feel like this game, we came out and did that, and that kind of helped us with the energy and effort.”
Even with the Cardinals' extra effort, the home squad struggled shooting from the field shooting just 37% from the floor and 18% from three in the first half. The shooting struggles allowed the Golden Eagles to do just enough to maintain a small lead through the majority of the first half.
Sparks was the bright spot in the opening period offensively for the Cardinals as he racked up nine points on 4-for-6 shooting.
As the half drew to a close the red and white needed a bucket to draw within one score. Graduate student Ethan Britain-Watts dribbled the ball up the court and had to pull up a long-range three at the buzzer and drained it to give Ball State momentum going into the locker room only trailing by two, 35-37.
“[Ethan] had a hell of a shot,” Lewis said. “I thought the key to the play was one, we got the defensive rebound, and then we played with poise. Mason [Jones] could have thrown it away. He played with great poise and was able to find it up the court.”
Momentum from the first half carried over to open the second period, allowing Ball State to take a 43-42 lead at the 17:14 mark of the second half thanks to a three-point basket from senior Mickey Pearson Jr. This was its first lead since it was 22-21 with 8:45 remaining in the first half.
Pearson Jr. was extra aggressive coming out of the locker room and was dialed in shooting. The senior logged his 1,000th career point and 500th rebound as a Cardinal late in the second half. When asked about the achievement, the Alabama native was humble in his response.
“I’m just happy that I was able to achieve that, showcasing how hard I've been working,” Pearson Jr. said. “Being resilient, fighting through a lot of battles, it's a great achievement. Just shout out to Coach Lewis for giving me a chance and my teammates.”
Pearson Jr. ended the night with 21 points and 5 rebounds on 7-for-12 shooting to lead the scoring for the red and white.
Once Ball State gained the lead in the second half, they never relinquished control for the remainder of the game. The Cardinals were able to stretch their lead to as many as 11 points in the half in large part due to multiple players contributing offensively.
“It's fun when everybody's hit shots,” Sparks said. You know, everybody's having fun out there, but it does make it easier. I just love it when everybody else hits. I don't really care if I score honestly, but I just want to win.”
Down the final stretch, the Golden Eagles did make things interesting drawing to within one score late but the Cardinals did enough to close it out in crunch time making the winning plays necessary.
“I thought they played with some poise and did some things down the stretch to win,” Lewis said. “It's great that we were prepared to foul there at the end if they got the rebound, but it was a great job by Joey [Hart] stepping up and making a free throw and sealing the game. The only people pissed off about this win are the gamblers.”
Ball State returns to MAC play on Tuesday back at home against Eastern Michigan (11-12, 4-6). Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
Contact David Moore with comments at david.moore@bsu.edu or on X @gingninj63
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