MUNCIE, Ind. - The Western Michigan men's basketball made their first foray into conference play on Saturday, but were unable to overcome Ball State's Jarrod Jones, falling 78-69 to the Cardinals at Worthen Arena. With the loss, the Broncos fall to 6-9 overall, including an 0-1 record in MAC play. Ball State improves to 9-4 overall, 1-0 in the MAC.
Demetrius Ward was the top scorer for the Broncos, pouring in 16 shots and also adding a game-high seven assists. Matt Stainbrook finished the game with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and had a team-high seven rebounds. The Broncos out-rebounded the Cardinals 41-35, but shot just 40.3 percent from the field and turned the ball over 14 teams, compared to just nine times for the Cardinals.
The first half was as close as it was physical, with the conference rivals lending credence to the old phrase "familiarity breeds contempt." The teams combined for 20 fouls in the first half, but the teams continued to bang away at one another down low. After the Cardinals started the game on a 7-4 run, the Broncos pulled to within 9-8 when Douglas, back in the line-up after missing the game against Milwaukee, buried a three-pointer from the left corner at the 15:13 mark. BSU would counter with a 9-0 run, however, and the Broncos would make chase to try and pull even again.
Flenard Whitfield, in his first game action since early December, hit a 15-foot jumper from the right wing to start the run off; after a defensive stop, Douglas drove to the hoop and laid it in to make the score 19-14 with 9:25 remaining. At the 6:43 mark, Ward would hit a jumper to cut Ball State's lead to 23-18, and on the ensuing possession would strip Jesse Berry before dishing to Shayne Whittington, who scored on the easy fast break lay-up.
It would be Austin Richie's turn just one possession later, as he took the ball from Berry and put it in to cap a 6-0 run, making it 23-22 with 5:58 remaining. After a bizarre sequence in which three technical fouls (two for Ball State, one for Western Michigan) were assessed within seconds of one another, the Cardinals pulled away and went into the locker room leading 36-29.
The Broncos would work on chipping away at the Cardinal lead in the second half, with the biggest push of the game coming with just under five minutes remaining in the game. Matt Stainbrook scored on consecutive possessions - once on an assist from Douglas, and then again with a deft pass from Ward - to spark a 7-0 run. Hayden Hoerdemann capped the run when he drained a three from just beyond the key at the 3:48 mark, making it just 69-63.
However, the Cardinals would tighten up down the stretch to seal the win; Chris Bond hit a lay-up with 2:39 remaining to expand the lead to eight points, and Ball State would go on a 7-1 run to put the game out of reach for the Broncos. Hoerdemann would hit one more three with seven seconds remaining to set the final score at 78-69.
