Cardinal comebacks come up short
HONOLULU -- Ball State overcame a nine-point deficit early in Monday’s game and nearly overcame another one late but finished one point short in a 71-70 loss to UTEP in a consolation contest at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
The things the Cardinals (6-6) could not overcome were a tough shooting night from the perimeter and an early injury to Kyle Mallers. Despite forcing 23 turnovers on the night, Ball State could not overtake one of the top tier teams in Conference USA.
Tahjai Teague, Ishmael El-Amin and Jarron Coleman scored 14 points each for the Cardinals who now have one game remaining at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu. BSU will face Portland at 8:30 a.m. HT (1:30 p.m. ET) Christmas Day on ESPNU.
“We competed our tail off,” Ball State head coach James Whitford said. “We played a very good team. We had a lot of adversity against us, and we battled all the way through. We put ourselves in position to win the game … Nothing to hang our head about.”
Ball State trailed 17-8 early, but the biggest blow during that stretch was an injury that sidelined Mallers for the rest of the evening. Still, the Cardinals rallied to tie the game at 31-all by halftime and built a seven-point lead of their own less than six minutes after the break.
But after two free throws from Coleman put BSU ahead 45-38, UTEP (9-3) went on a 16-2 run to turn their seven-point deficit into a seven-point advantage.
Down by nine at the final media timeout, Ball State rallied with plays like El-Amin’s steal and lay-in and Luke Bumbalough’s 3-pointer to pull within two. The Cardinals still trailed just 68-66 with the ball and less than 10 seconds to play but couldn’t convert and wound up having to foul. UTEP hit free throws, and Kani Acree drained a 3 at the buzzer to pull BSU within one on the final scoreboard. The Cardinals finished the night 6-for-25 from deep.
With the injury to Mallers and early second-half foul trouble for Brachen Hazen, the redshirt freshman Acree played a career-high 23 minutes and registered eight points and four rebounds. The Cardinals were plus-nine when he was on the floor.
UTEP’s Bryson Williams, who averages better than 20 points per game, scored 16 in this one, including 11 in the second half. The Miners shot 50 percent from the floor to overcome their high turnover count.
(Courtesy of BSU Athletics)
The things the Cardinals (6-6) could not overcome were a tough shooting night from the perimeter and an early injury to Kyle Mallers. Despite forcing 23 turnovers on the night, Ball State could not overtake one of the top tier teams in Conference USA.
Tahjai Teague, Ishmael El-Amin and Jarron Coleman scored 14 points each for the Cardinals who now have one game remaining at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu. BSU will face Portland at 8:30 a.m. HT (1:30 p.m. ET) Christmas Day on ESPNU.
“We competed our tail off,” Ball State head coach James Whitford said. “We played a very good team. We had a lot of adversity against us, and we battled all the way through. We put ourselves in position to win the game … Nothing to hang our head about.”
Ball State trailed 17-8 early, but the biggest blow during that stretch was an injury that sidelined Mallers for the rest of the evening. Still, the Cardinals rallied to tie the game at 31-all by halftime and built a seven-point lead of their own less than six minutes after the break.
But after two free throws from Coleman put BSU ahead 45-38, UTEP (9-3) went on a 16-2 run to turn their seven-point deficit into a seven-point advantage.
Down by nine at the final media timeout, Ball State rallied with plays like El-Amin’s steal and lay-in and Luke Bumbalough’s 3-pointer to pull within two. The Cardinals still trailed just 68-66 with the ball and less than 10 seconds to play but couldn’t convert and wound up having to foul. UTEP hit free throws, and Kani Acree drained a 3 at the buzzer to pull BSU within one on the final scoreboard. The Cardinals finished the night 6-for-25 from deep.
With the injury to Mallers and early second-half foul trouble for Brachen Hazen, the redshirt freshman Acree played a career-high 23 minutes and registered eight points and four rebounds. The Cardinals were plus-nine when he was on the floor.
UTEP’s Bryson Williams, who averages better than 20 points per game, scored 16 in this one, including 11 in the second half. The Miners shot 50 percent from the floor to overcome their high turnover count.
(Courtesy of BSU Athletics)
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