by Ball State men’s basketball played in a brand new state Sunday afternoon. The program had never played in North Carolina until their contest with the Campbell Fighting Camels.
However, their inaugural visit to “The Tar Heel State” ended in how eight of their last nine games have gone: a loss.
“I think we’ve improved in some areas, but just not enough to equate to wins,” Ball State head coach Michael Lewis said. “When we take one step forward in an area, we take a step back somewhere else.”
In their third-straight defeat, the Cardinals (3-8) were topped by the Camels (5-5) 69-64. Ball State has not been on the winning side of a contest since Nov. 30, when the team faced Le Moyne.
There were a few promising signs in the loss, however. In his second start of the season since returning from injury, junior guard Joey Hart led the Cardinals with 15 points on five-for-10 shooting.
Lewis said that Hart is still not where he needs to be, but he is making the right decisions that could get him there.
“In seven minutes without Joey on the floor, we lost by nine points,” Lewis said. “I think that shows us how important he is with his ability to score.”
When it came to playing inside the paint, Lewis liked what he saw from the Cardinals.
With graduate student forward Cam Denson still out due to an injury — who Lewis said is a few weeks away from possibly returning — it has been up to redshirt sophomore Kayden Fish and freshman Preston Copeland. Fish had 11 points and four rebounds while Copeland had 10 points and a team-leading eight rebounds.
Lewis said Copeland did what he needed to do in his position.
“10 and eight from a freshman post player for the rest of the season?” Lewis said. “Sign me up.”
Though the game was tied 30-30 at halftime, and the Cardinals held the Camels to just 69 points — a team that averages 84.4 points per game — it still was not enough in the end. Besides Hart, Ball State’s guard play struggled to get any momentum going. As a team, the Cardinals were 24-for-59 (40.7 percent) while they were just 2-for-14 (14.3 percent) from 3-point range.
The poor shooting numbers have been a constant issue for Ball State — which is just 39.7 percent overall and 29.6 percent from deep this season — but Lewis said guys need to keep pulling the trigger until they fall.
“Outside of Joey, our back corner was six-for-25, and that’s several games in a row where we just haven’t been able to put the ball in the hoop,” Lewis said. “We’ve got to continue to work, continue to teach and continue to pour into this team.”
However, there were other mistakes that hurt them.
The Cardinals missed several layups throughout the game and had poor execution in other moments. One play that harmed them was when Ball State only trailed 65-62 with just 29 seconds on the clock. On the inbounds pass, Hart was open and in position to make a move.
However, the pass from redshirt sophomore guard Davion Hill was deflected, and the turnover ended in points for the Camels following a foul and free throws.
“We still let mistakes mount up and carry over,” Lewis said. “There was a possession right before that where we drew it up twice in a huddle. That just [comes down to] execution and where your mind is … You can’t be worrying about other things within the game.”
Though Lewis said he has seen ‘improvement,’ that does not hide the Cardinals’ recent results. With Mid-American Conference (MAC) play looming, he wants to see guys take another step. Overall, Ball State lost the rebound battle to Campbell 45-38 but won the paint points battle 42-32.
The Cardinals begin MAC play Saturday, Dec. 20, as Miami (OH) comes to Muncie at 2 p.m. To be in a position to win games, Lewis was very clear on what needs to happen, and that begins with playing team basketball. Specifically, team basketball for the program they are currently representing.
“I’m talking about being the person here and not worrying about what’s next. Because if you’re not doing it here, the next thing ain’t happening,” Lewis said. “You’d better just appreciate what you got here and worry about fixing things here.
“I think we’re trying to skip steps, and I think it’s mounting in our guys’ minds. They worry way too much about [mistakes]. Then, when mistakes do happen, which basketball is a game of mistakes, you’re going to make a lot of them. It compounds because we’re worried about the wrong things.”
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu, zachcarter039@gmail.com or via X @ZachCarter85.
