Ball State men’s basketball head coach Michael Lewis said this multiple times after today’s loss to Bowling Green.
“The ball just didn't fall in for us today,” he said.
In the contest, the Cardinals shot 33.9 percent (20-for-59) from the field and 26.1 percent (6-for-23) from 3-point range. This didn’t help the Cardinals as they fell to the Falcons 61-52 — Ball State’s lowest scoring total this season — and now both teams are tied for eighth in the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
Lewis said he believed this team could make the MAC Tournament all season, but the way today’s performance was handled highlighted the issues he’s spoken about the last few games.
“You're going to have those [poor shooting] days, but when you have those days, you've got to make up for it in other areas,” Lewis said. “... We get in our own minds and don't communicate about different things. But our defensive fight isn’t where it needs to be to win quality basketball games, especially this time of year.”
Coming into the game, Ball State (14-15, 7-9 MAC) sat in the No. 7 spot in the MAC and a win would have put them two spots ahead of ninth place, which is the first position to miss the MAC Tournament. Though players said they had motivation after the Cardinals’ loss to Akron (23-6, 15-1 MAC) Feb. 25, Lewis said they didn’t fight today as he would have liked.
“March is all about toughness, grit and fighting and figuring out a way to win the games,” Lewis said. “It's not about how many points you score or how esthetically pleasing it is. It's just whether or not you win or lose the game. We just didn't have enough tools.”
Ball State’s shooting issues started when the game began as the red and white missed their first four shots. Though Lewis said they had good looks, nothing could fall. On the other hand, the Falcons (13-16, 7-9 MAC) didn’t do much better on offense, shooting 36.7 percent (11-for-30) in the first half.
At halftime, the Falcons led the Cardinals 25-24.
The rest of the way was similar as Ball State could not get the ball to drop in the hoop. But it was their effort on defense that also held them back. While it was a two-point game (45-43) at the 8:45 mark, the Cardinals struggled with momentum while the Falcons found an offensive rhythm and finished the game on a 16-9 run.
Lewis has talked about this roster being unable to play a full 40-minute game.
“I really couldn't tell you [why that is],” senior center Payton Sparks said. “We've had plenty of opportunities to come out and fight and bring a lot of energy. As a team, we just haven't shown that.”
Redshirt senior forward Mickey Pearson Jr. led Ball State with 15 points while Sparks followed with 14. Junior guard Jermahri Hill — Ball State’s leading scorer this season — did not score.
“I wouldn't say we struggled to find motivation [today],” Pearson said. “I feel like we had two good days of practice. Came out, played and had a good half of basketball. Second half, we just didn't get stops when we needed to … Didn't hit some shots we normally hit and lost the game.”
Ball State will play its final home game at Worthen Arena Tuesday, March 4 at 7 p.m. against Western Michigan (10-18, 7-8 MAC). With two games left of the regular season, Lewis only knows one way for the Cardinals to improve.
“You continue to pound it for what it is,” he said. “A Tiger doesn't change his stripes.”
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu or via X @ZachCarter85.
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