KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Despite having three players score in double figures the Western Michigan men's basketball team fell to Ball State in a tightly contested battle 76-68 on Tuesday afternoon inside University Arena.
The Broncos nearly staged a comeback on their home floor Tuesday as WMU trailed by seven with four minutes remaining. After sophomore B. Artis White made 1-of-2 from the free-throw line, senior
Greg Lee grabbed the rebound off the missed free-throw and converted an and-one opportunity to slim the Ball State lead down to three with 3:30 to play.
The Cardinals and Broncos traded baskets prior to White cruising down the lane and making a tough lay-up to bring WMU to within four with 1:30 left. After a Ball State turnover, the Broncos had an opportunity to make it a one possession game with
under a minute to go. On the ensuing possession however, the Brown & Gold lost the ball out of bounds and giving the ball back to Ball State.
Ball State took advantage of the Bronco mistake, connecting on a free-throw line jumper with 50 seconds remaining to pull in front by six and secure the victory. The Cardinals pulled away late, making their final seven field goals.
Western Michigan had a trio score in double figures led by sophomore B. Artis White with 20 points. White's 20 points matches his career-high as the Canton, Mich., native was 6-of-12 from the field and 2-of-6 from behind the three-point line. White also registered three rebounds, two assists and one steal in 36 minutes of action.
Behind White off the bench was senior
Rafael Cruz Jr. with 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field. Cruz Jr. was 5-of-6 from the free-throw line and also led the Broncos with seven rebounds. Rounding out the trio was redshirt junior
Jason Whitens with 10 points to go along with four rebounds, two steals and one block.
Freshman
Josiah Freeman had his best game as a Bronco with a career-high eight points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field. Freeman knocked down a team-high two three-pointers and had one rebound and one steal in 16 minutes.
As a team the Broncos shot 44.2 percent from the field and was 6-of-19 from long distance. From the free-throw line, WMU was 16-of-21 compared to Ball State's 9-of-12. Both teams registered 31 rebounds on Tuesday afternoon with WMU holding a slight edge on the offensive glass, 9-8.
WMU forced Ball State to commit 13 turnovers, scoring seven points off of Cardinal mistakes. Ball State held a 38-34 advantage in points in the paint and had 14 assists to WMU's nine.
Western Michigan now has an overall record of 2-5 and 1-1 in Mid-American Conference play. The Broncos will rest during the holiday break before returning to the court on Saturday, Jan. 2 against Toledo. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. inside University Arena.
The two teams traded baskets early on as Ball State jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before WMU went on a quick 5-0 run to regain the lead. Later in the first half the Bronco offense got hot making five of their seven field goals to gain a 15-11 advantage at the 12:23 mark.
An and-one from junior
Adrian Martin sparked the Bronco offense, making four of their next five field goals to take a 22-17 lead. Once again the Cardinals responded connecting on five of their next six field goals yet WMU still held a 27-26 lead with eight minutes remaining in the first half.
After Ball State regained the lead at 28-27, Western Michigan stormed back with an 8-4 run late in the first half to earn a 36-31 advantage. The run was highlighted by a fast break three-pointer from Cruz Jr. to force BSU to call a timeout. To end the first
half WMU embarked on a 14-4 run and took a 43-36 lead into the locker room.
Coming out of the locker room to start the second half Ball State made three straight field goals to tie the game at 45-45 with 16 minutes remaining. The Cardinals ended up on a 12-0 run early in the second half to earn a five-point lead before White nailed a step back three-pointer to trim the deficit down to two.
Midway through the second, White got off a lay-up that went high off the glass and found the bottom of the net to tie the game at 54-54 with nine minutes remaining. Two minutes late White stole a pass and took it the length of the court to give Western Michigan a 58-56 lead. The two-point lead was thanks in large part to the Bronco defense which held Ball State scoreless from the field for nearly five minutes.
Ball State rallied back with a 6-0 run of their own and earned a 67-60 lead with 4:11 remaining. Western Michigan cut the Ball State lead down to three with 2:20 remaining but a three-pointer from Ball State's Luke Bumbalough extended the Cardinal lead back to six with two minutes left. Down the stretch the Cardinals made their final seven field goals to earn the 76-68 win.
