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Oh god. The losing. When does it end?
Not tonight thanks to the Eastern Michigan Eagles (18-12, 7-10). EMU extended the Ball State slide to 15 straight with a 67-60 win over the Cardinals in Muncie. Ball State is winless since an 83-65 victory over Central Michigan on January 10th.
This one was certainly winnable. Ball State (7-21, 2-15) staged a furious 15-4 run to close to within 3 with 37 seconds remaining. Eastern Michigan knocked down its free throws down the stretch however and were able to put away the Cardinals. As a team the Eagles hit 17 of 18 from the charity stripe.
Because you know how seriously this writer takes his free throw shooting, let's first point out Mike Talley. Talley hit all nine of his free throw attempts, scoring 16 to go with 5 rebounds and 6 steals. Raven Lee scored 20 on 7 of 12 shooting and Karrington Ward contributed 12 points to go with 6 boards.
The Cardinals shot 13 of 21 from the free throw line. Ok? So there. That's how they lost.
They played tough though. Bo Calhoun and Franko House scored 13 apiece. Sean Sellers wasn't great, 10 points on 3 of 12 shooting including 1 of 7 from behind the arc. Zavier Turner was held scoreless for the second time in five games. Turner hasn't scored in double digits since his 12 point effort on February 12th against Bowling Green.
Ball State outrebounded Eastern Michigan 34-25. Seven of eight Cardinals logged at least 20 minutes.
Both teams wrap up the MAC regular season on Friday. Ball State hosts Northern Illinois while Eastern Michigan welcomes Toledo.
Game Leaders
| Player | HOME | AWAY |
|---|---|---|
| Points | B. Calhoun, F. House (13) | R. Lee (20) |
| Rebounds | B. Calhoun (7) | K. Ward (6) |
| Assists | Z. Turner (4) | M. Talley (5) |
| Blocks | Three with 1 | Ward, T. Bond (1) |
| Steals | J. Davis (3) | M. Talley (6) |