Men's hoops team loses 11th of 12 at Ball St.
MUNCIE, Ind. - CMU is starting to develop a pattern.
In a game that looked strikingly similar to Thursday night's loss to Ohio, CMU fell for the 11th time in its last 12 games with an 88-69 loss to Ball State Saturday.
Just like Thursday's game CMU got out to an early lead, then struggled for any offense.
Just like Thursday's game CMU's opponent found a way to hurt the Chippewas from the 3-point arch.
Also, players CMU did not expect to do much damage did, just like Thursday's game.
"We came out early and got into a nice flow. I thought we could catch Ball State on their heels coming in off four straight losses. Then (Rob) Robbins hit a couple of big 3's and that gave them some momentum," CMU Head Coach Jay Smith said.
Robbins went 2-for-2 for the night for six points off the bench to help lift the Cardinals to a 12-of-19 (.632) shooting night from 3-point land.
"We're not big enough to take away everything so we take away the paint. Tonight they did shoot it well. We play percentages," Smith said.
After noticing that Ball State could exploit CMU on the perimeter, Head Coach Ray McCallum prepared Robbins for the job.
"I told Rob to get ready because he could get an opportunity for time," he said.
Ball State's leader in that department was senior guard Mickey Hosier, who shot 5-of-5 en route to 20 points.
"Their (Chippewas) defense packs the lane and my shot is slower and Duane (Clemens) set me up a couple of times," Hosier said.
Clemens, the other senior starting guard, led the Cardinals in scoring with 24 points and assists with five.
"Our guards were really ready. That was the difference today," McCallum said.
McCallum said the guards responded to his challenge for the seniors.
"I challenged them. I've always said as our guards go, we're going to go. They've been through the wars," he said.
Walk-on freshman Chad Pleiness was the biggest positive for the Chippewas as he rose to the occasion time and again for a game-high and career-high 26 points.
Pleiness shot 13-for-19 from the field and led the team with seven rebounds.
"Pleiness hit some big shots. He shot the ball well," Smith said.
On the other hand, sophomore guard David Webber was virtually non-existent scoring only two points, shooting 1-for-5 from the floor.
McCallum said he put an emphasis on guarding Webber after his 25 point performance against Ohio.
"It (his lack of production) definitely took away from their offense," McCallum said.
Clemens, who along with defensive help held Webber in check, thought Webber was not looking for his shot as much as usual.
"He wasn't being as aggressive as he usually is," he said.
In spite of Webber's lack of scoring, CMU streaked out to a 12-2 lead early and led 16-11 at the 11:53 mark in the first half.
Then CMU went ice cold and stayed on 16, while Ball State continued to climb.
Within about two minutes, Ball State went on an 11-0 run to lead 22-16 at the 8:13 mark.
Down 40-27 at the half, CMU battled back and brought it within 10 (70-60) with about six minutes to play.
But, Ball State took control down the stretch and CMU would not come back.
Central travels to Eastern Michigan Wednesday night for a 7:30 p.m. game before returning home for a 7 p.m. Monday against Northern Illinois.
