(BALL STATE RELEASE)
ATHENS, Ohio - Ishmael El-Amin had team highs of 21 points and five assists for Ball State in an 85-77 loss at Ohio on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals and OU were supposed to play Friday night on national TV but the game was moved to Saturday due to power outages in the area.
Ohio's Jason Preston had a triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists while being limited to 3-for-16 shooting. Mark Sears added 19 points for Ohio (8-6, 4-4). OU scored the game's first 11 points and held a 16-8 lead early in the game. Ball State (6-7, 4-4) found hot shooting from 3-point range to battle back, making 5-for-10 from long range in the first half to be within 46-40. Ohio led by as many as 14 and had an answer for every time Ball State made a run.
TURNING POINT: Early in the second half, Ball State cut Ohio's lead to 46-43. A 7-0 Ohio run over the next 2:43 put the Cards back down 10 and they wouldn't get back to within five until the final minute. Ball State was within six points four different times in the second half but Ohio kept finding a way to answer back and hold off the surging Cardinals.
STRAIGHT FROM THE COACH: "I was proud of the way our team battled back after a slow start," head coach James Whitford said. "We fought hard and had a chance at the end. Their interior toughness overpowered us and their ability to get second shots was the difference in the game."
MORE ON THOSE SECOND SHOTS: Ohio grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and built a 26-10 advantage in second-chance points. Overall, Ohio was +11 (45-34) on the glass, with three different players grabbing six or more rebounds.
WILD 24 HOURS: Ball State traveled to southeastern Ohio on Thursday to prep for a Friday night game. The team spent five hours in a hotel with no power and no hot water, then the game was moved to Saturday afternoon. Whitford said everyone has had to stay flexible in a very unconventional season.
"Everybody has been dealing with things like this all year. You just have to lock in on the things you can control," he said.
FAIR FOUL SHOOTING: After a perfect foul shooting night at Miami, the Cardinals had another good game at the line on Saturday. BSU made all 19 of its free throws Tuesday at Miami, the best single-game mark in more than 24 years. The Cards went 15-for-19 at the stripe at Ohio, meaning the Cardinals went 34-for-38 (89.5%) at the free throw line this week.
TEEMU AN X-FACTOR OFF THE BENCH: Whitford mentioned freshman guard Teemu Suokas in his postgame comments, applauding his work handling the ball and dishing four assists in 10 minutes. "Teemu did a nice job off the bench. He made a difference in the game," Whitford said.
Luke Bumbalough added 11 points and Kani Acree chipped in 10. Blake Huggins grabbed a team-high five rebounds.
BIG PICTURE: Looking ahead, Whitford offered some thoughts on what BSU can tweak to improve with six weeks left on the regular season schedule. "We need to be better and more consistent defensively. We have to get our defensive side of the ball tougher and become a better rebounding team for us to get where we want to go", the eighth-year coach said. In two games this week, Ball State shot 20-for-45 from 3-point range and scored 74 points per game. However, the Cards also allowed 83 points per game and Miami and Ohio shot a total of 75 free throws.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals will be back at home Tuesday night when Kent State comes to Worthen Arena at 7 p.m.
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