by MUNCIE, Ind. — After Ball State men’s basketball dropped it’s fourth consecutive Mid-American Conference (MAC) game to Kent State on Valentine’s Day, senior guard Juwan Maxey expressed a certain feeling in the post-game press conference.
“It’s heartbreaking to go out and be close again,” he said.
Head coach Michael Lewis seemed to be the physical representation of Maxey’s words. Following the loss, the fourth-year Ball State coach sat behind a microphone and communicated his thoughts.
“That’s a tough one to swallow … I feel like the guys played extremely hard,” Lewis said. “I thought we looked like a basketball team that was competing to win today … You feel for the guys.”
Yet in the same vein, Lewis knew what the issue was. He provided a prime example and highlighted a sequence that occurred in the second half.
At the 4:58 mark, junior forward Mason Jones hit a 3-pointer to bring Ball State within one point at 66-65. But then disaster struck.
The Cardinals committed a turnover, missed a triple that Lewis deemed a dumb shot and that was capped off by a ‘point-blank’ missed layup from redshirt sophomore guard Davion Hill.
Following another turnover, the Golden Flashes scored, taking a 68-65 lead. Ball State was able to force a two-point game a few possessions later, but the Cardinals never cleared the hurdle of taking the lead. In fact, they never led once, with the only tie being a 3-3 score for 1:27.
Lewis described the errors as ‘really silly plays.’
“It’s got to stop,” he said. “It’s just got to stop.”
The Cardinals (8-17, 3-9 MAC) started the game 3-17 from the field, and beyond that, they were 1-9 from 3-point range during that slump. Ball State ended the first half down 40-31 after going 9-for-31 (29 percent) from the field and grabbing 17 rebounds to Kent State’s (19-7, 10-3 MAC) 26.
But the start to the second half was different.
It started as senior forward Devon Barnes scored on a contested driving layup. Then freshman center Preston Copeland had two blocks and forced his way to the free-throw line.
As a team, Ball State shot 40 percent from the field during the final 20 minutes — earning a 33.9 shooting percentage overall — and seemed to be alive.
Hill was huge in the change in momentum as the guard finished the game with a team-leading 17 points and eight rebounds. He was also 90 percent (9-10) from the charity stripe.
But despite his effort and the Cardinals’ momentum as a collective, they never had enough juice to jump in front. This was due to other mistakes and unlucky breaks.
“The basketball gods are real,” Lewis said. “They punish bad plays … We’re down nine, and we felt like there were nine or 10 points that we didn’t make them earn. When you are playing a good, quality team like Kent State, you have to make them earn everything.”
The Cardinals voiced the same opinion. Hill said he thought the fight that was needed to win was right there.
It just did not go their way.
“I don’t think we gave up in that game,” Hill said. “But we can’t dwell on it.”
Lewis said he felt like the team had been ‘fighting their ass off.’ But once again, that mindset and mentality have not turned into wins. The Cardinals are now the second-to-last team in the MAC.
If they want a shot at making the MAC Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio, there are six opportunities left. Their next game is set for Tuesday, Feb. 17, when Ball State will travel to Ohio and face the Bobcats at 7 p.m.
When asked how he can eliminate the easy errors and turn things around, Lewis said he will keep asking the players about it until those issues cease to exist.
“I’ve asked them, ‘How many times do I have to tell you to do X?’” He said. “If it’s one time or 962 times, tell me the number. I’ll go hit the number so we can get past it. A lot of it’s just habits and [about having] the mental toughness and discipline to do it.
“When the game’s on the line, that is a different level. We just haven’ t shown the ability to [close out games] consistently … It’s not easy to break habits.”
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu, zachcarter039@gmail.com or via X @ZachCarter85.
