 BALL STATE 64, EASTERN MICHIGAN 49 Senior forward Brandon Bowdry tallied his 37th career double with 17 points and 11 rebounds and moved into second place on the all-time rebounds list in the loss, moving one carom ahead of EMU great Earl Dixon ('72).
With the setback, the Eagles fall to 8-19 overall, 4-9 in the MAC, while the Cardinals improve to 16-11 (8-5 MAC).
Jarrod Jones helped Ball State to the comeback win as he led all scorers with 18 points and pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds, tallying 12 points and 10 boards in the second half alone. He was backed by Chris Bond's 16 points.
After going into the locker room with a 26-24 lead, the Eagles came out firing in the second half with back-to-back three's by J.R. Sims and Antonio Green to push the EMU lead to 32-26 just over a minute into the half.
Then it was Ball State's turn to make a run as it stormed back with a 16-4 rally to go up 42-36 with 13:52 left in the game. At the 12:12 mark in the second half, Kamil Janton connected on a layup to cut the deficit to 45-40, but that would be the last EMU field goal for some time.
The Eagles went scoreless for the next six-and-a-half minutes and struggled to connect on a field goal until Kenny Stewart converted a baby hook in the lane with 3:43 to go in the game to make it 58-44. By that time it was too late.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals lead grew to as many as 17 points after Randy Davis made it 61-44 with just over three minutes left to play.
The first half was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams as the Eagles jumped out to their largest lead of the half just before the midway point at, 16-11. Bowdry scored 10 of the team's first 12 points, including knocking down back-to-back three-pointers to open the game.
The Cardinals respopnded with an eight-point run to take a one point lead before the Eagles rallied back with seven unanswered points to make the score 24-19, EMU. Each team exchanged a bucket in the final 3:08 as the Eagles went into the locker room with a 26-24 lead.
Bowdry nearly posted a double-double in the first half as he led all scorers with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Jamell Harris added six points. Chris Bond led the Cardinals with eight points in the first stanza and Jarrod Jones added six as well.
The Eagles shot 32.1 percent (17-of-53) for the game, while the Cardinals chipped in a 38.2 percent (21-of-55) clip. BSU turned in a superb night at the free throw line, making 20-of-25 attempts, while EMU went just 8-of-11 from the charity stripe.
The Eagles will be back in action this Sunday when they take on Western Michigan at 2 p.m. at the Convocation Center. During halftime, the team will honor EMU great Earl Boykins ('98) by retiring his No. 11 jersey into the rafters.
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