March 8, 2024
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Ball State men’s basketball team nearly erased a 13-point second half deficit to trail by only one with under five minutes to play, but ultimately fell 80-70 to Bowling Green on Friday night at the Stroh Center.
The Cardinals finished the season with a 15-16 record (7-11 Mid-American Conference) and one spot in the league standings from making the MAC Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio. Bowling Green (19-12, 10-8 MAC) locked up the No. 5 seed in the conference tourney, which is scheduled to begin on Thursday.
Ball State trailed 35-26 at the halftime break and 48-35 with 15:27 to play but whittled the deficit down to 60-59 at the 4:29 mark of the second half following a Mickey Pearson Jr. 3-pointer from the left corner. The Falcons responded with a triple of their own, and they would lead by at least two possessions the remainder of the game.
Jalin Anderson (22 points, four assists, three rebounds) scored 10 of his points in the first 10 minutes of the game to get the Ball State offense going. Basheer Jihad put up 15 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals a game after having to sit out against Kent State due to injury.
Anderson netted seven points in the Ball State rally to cut Bowling Green’s advantage to the minimum, while Jihad chipped in six and Ben Hendriks scored five straight points during the 24-12 second half scoring run. Hendriks tallied 10 points and three rebounds off the bench, and Mason Jones went for 10 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks for the Cardinals. Trent Middleton Jr. added nine points, three rebounds and three assists.
The Cardinals were playing without the services of leading 3-point shooter Davion Bailey, who suffered an injury in practice. Ball State shot 44.4 percent (24-54) from the field including 26.3 percent (5-19) from distance and hit 73.9 percent (17-23) at the free throw line.
Bowling Green got a game high 24 points from leading scorer Marcus Hill, who added five assists and five steals. The Falcons went 46.7 percent (28-60) from the field, 40.9 percent (9-22) on 3-pointers and 83.3 percent (15-18) on foul shots.
The hosts outrebounded the Cardinals 35-32 and had one less turnover (15-14).
Ball State’s season was highlighted by a 7-0 nonconference home record and late-season wins at Central Michigan and at home against Kent State to provide an opportunity to earn a postseason berth. Jihad (18.6 points and 8.0 rebounds per game) and Anderson (15.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game) earned consideration for the MAC All-Conference teams, which will be announced next week.
BallStateSports.com
