 In a tightly-contested game, Ball State defeated Central Michigan 64-61 in overtime to advance to the Mid-American Conference semifinals.
The Cardinals (14-16, 7-9) did not lead by more than six after halftime and CMU (12-19, 7-9) lead for only 18 seconds in the second half. The Chippewas used a 6-0 run to tie the game at 50 with 1:37 remaining in regulation. Jordan Bitzer contributed 4 of his team-high 18 points in the run.
CMU earned a 59-56 lead in overtime after Bitzer converted two free throws, but those would be their last points until 3 seconds were left in the game. By then, BSU executed an 8-0 run. Jarrod Jones missed the front end of a one-and-bonus, and Bitzer's halfcourt heave bounced harmlessly off the backboard to secure the win.
"I might've been too confident," Jones said. "I didn't think I was gonna miss. Thankfully, they didn't hit a half-court shot, a March Madness shot."
The Cardinals were able to score 13 points off 14 Chippewa turnovers. CMU coach Ernie Zeigler said his team did not take care of the ball enough.
"That, and their newfound ability to make free throws, helped them win the game," he said. Ball State attempted twice as many free throws (22-30) as CMU (11-15) despite Central's 34-26 edge in paint points and 18-4 advantage in second chance points.
"We felt like we put ourselves in a position to finish or get fouled," Zeigler said. "I felt we were definitely able to make that happen, just not enough." Ball State, 338th in the country in free throw percentage (60.4%) shot 73.% for the contest.
"We practiced a lot of free throws in our couple days off," BSU guard Laron Frazier said.
Ball State's ability to get to and convert from the free throw line especially helped them in the overtime, during which they made their first six attempts.
"I'm just proud of our guys," BSU coach Charles Taylor said. "We had some overtime games where we couldn't get the decision. We maintained our posed, got big shots."
CMU guard Robbie Harman, a key part of the Chippewas' victory Tuesday against Eastern Michigan, was held to 3 points on 1-10 shooting from the field. He had 3 assists and 3 turnovers.
"I just tried to give him different looks," said BSU guard Brandon Lampley, who guarded Harman much of the game. "Tried to keep the ball out of his hands."
Ball State outshot Central Michigan 45.5% to 40.7% and won the turnover battle (9 to 14) but were outrebounded 27 to 39. The Chippewas collected 16 offensive rebounds, which Taylor said is too many.
"I hoped we would do better than that. We've been a good rebounding team," he said.
Late in the second half, Jarrod Jones scored to give Ball State a 52-50 lead. Harman missed a three-pointer on the next possession, but Jacolby Hardiman rebounded the miss and banked a shot in. However, he missed a free throw that would have given CMU the lead. Bitzer collected the rebound, but the team could not get a shot off before the shot clock expired.
"That was a crucial mistake," Zeigler said.
Taylor called time to draw up a play, but CMU used one of their two fouls to give on the inbound. With 3 seconds remaining, Rob Giles missed a turnaround three-pointer to win. He was 2-7 from the field before taking that shot.
"We got a decent look at the end," Taylor said. "It was pretty much the way I drew it up. I was comfortable with Giles taking that shot."
Jones, the MAC Freshman of the Year, shot 6-of-8 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free throw line to post 20 points. He also had 6 rebounds. Frazier scored 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field.
"They weren't really guarding the ball screeners that good," Frazier said.
Ball State will play the winner of the Buffalo/Kent State game Friday at 7:30 p.m.
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