Central Michigan University
Ball State
Chippewas Fall To Ball State 68-41
1/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 24, 2006
MUNCIE, Ind. - After scoring 21 points in the opening 10 minutes of Tuesday night's road game at Ball State, the Central Michigan University Chippewas couldn't match that total over the final 30 minutes in a 68-41 road loss to the Cardinals at Worthen Arena.
The Chippewas jumped out to a 21-14 lead nine and a half minutes into the game but CMU went cold after that as BSU went on a 17-2 run to close the half and take a 41-25 lead into the locker room at the break.
Things didn't get any better for the Maroon and Gold in the second half as the Chippewas made just four field goals in the final frame, only one in the first 14 minutes.
CMU finished the game shooting .289 (13-for-45) from the floor and .500 (9-for-18) from the line. Ball State shot .446 (25-for-56), including 54 percent from the floor and 57 percent from three-point range in the opening half.
BSU improved to 6-9 overall and 2-5 in the MAC while CMU dropped to 3-13 overall, 1-7 in the MAC.
"Defensively in the second half, Ball State really brought it to us," coach Jay Smith said. "We had open looks and we couldn't make them. We couldn't even hit our free throws. We struggled all the way around the park."
Sefton Barrett led the Chippewas with 11 points, four rebounds and three blocks. Freshman Chris Kellermann added 10 points.
CMU's leading scorer, Giordan Watson, struggled with his shot while connecting on just 1-of-13 attempts.
"When Watson goes 1-for-13 it would be hard for us to win a game," Smith added. "Against Buffalo, we could have beat anybody. Tonight, we wouldn't have beat the sisters of the poor."
Ball State was sparked by freshman Landon Adler's career-high 17 points off the bench. He was 7-for-8 from the floor and hit both his trey attempts.
Skip Mills tallied 14 points for the home team and Jalon Perryman added 13 while D'Andre Peyton grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
Ball State outrebounded CMU, 46-28, and the Chippewas committed 19 turnovers to the Cardinals' 15.
The Chippewas now return home for five of their next seven games. That stretch begins with West Division-leading Northern Illinois on Thursday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m. CMU is also at home on Sunday, Jan. 29, against rival Western Michigan at 3 p.m.
