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ATHENS, OH – Terrence Jones scored 20 points and Jarrod Jones hit a game-winning layup with three seconds remaining as Ball State defeated Ohio 67-66 in overtime Sunday at the Convocation Center.
It was the second road win of the week for the surging Cardinals, who have now won three in a row and five of their last six conference games after an 0-2 MAC start.
Ball State’s Brawley Chisholm hit a jumper with 2:54 left in regulation to tie the contest at 59-all, but neither team was able to score again before the second half ended.
Ohio forged a 66-63 lead after a pair of D. J. Cooper free throws and a basket by Kenneth van Kempen at 2:27 of overtime.
The Cardinals then missed three shots and Ohio one before Davis sank a two-point basket with 13 seconds remaining to trim Ohio’s advantage one.
Ball State needed another possession, and the Cardinals defense got it by forcing a five-second call on Ohio. Given the opportunity, BSU took advantage of it as Jones went inside to score the winning basket. A Bobcats shot at the buzzer was off the mark.
“Obviously, we had different plays and different things that players would like to have back, but it doesn’t work that way,” Ohio head coach John Groce said. “You only get one chance at them. They made the plays to win the game, and they stepped up.”
He continued, “It was a disappointing loss for us. I thought it was certainly a game that was winnable and that we had in the palm of our hand a couple different times. To Ball State’s credit, they kept fighting, and in particular, they really hurt us on the glass.
“Terrence Watson had 16 rebounds and 20 points in the game. I thought he was terrific. … That is the best I’ve seen him play. I thought he really imposed his will on the game.”
The 20 points and 16 boards were both season highs for Watson, who had scored a total of 20 points over the previous three games – all BSU wins.
Joining Watson in double figures for the winning Cardinals were Jones (12), Chisholm (11) and Davis (10).
Ohio was led by Tommy Freeman’s 16 points. Van Kempen added 13 and Armon Basset netted 10.
Ball State’s bench outscored Ohio 18-12 and although the Bobcats had a better shooting percentage (45.5 percent to 37.7 percent), BSU used a 12-5 advantage in offensive rebounds (41-30 overall) to score one more basket in the tight contest.
BSU led 28-27 with 5:28 left in the first half before Ohio went on a 13-4 run. Freeman’s trey with nine seconds remaining gave Ohio a 40-32 halftime lead. Freeman hit 3 of 6 from behind the arc and converted all five of his free throws on the day.
Both teams came out cold in the second half, scoring a bucket each during the first minute and then failing to dent the scoreboard again until a pair of Watson free throws at 13:26.
From that point on, Ball State chipped away at the Bobcats lead and pulled to within one point (54-53) on Jauwan Scaife’s 3-point goal at 5:33. Chisolm’s basket at 2:54 drew the teams even at 59-all and eventually forced overtime.
“We controlled the first half, and sometimes it can happen like that – one team controls the pace of the first half, and another will control it in the second half,” Freeman said. “I think we were looking for better shots, and we just weren’t moving the way we moved it in the first half.”
Van Kempen echoed Freeman’s view and also pointed to BSU’s lineup. “Probably the pace has a lot to do with it. They felt more comfortable playing in the second half. (But) I think they changed their lineup a little bit by putting the three bigs in. They got in the paint in the second half more than the first half, and that hurt us. At the end, they just made a couple more plays than us.”
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