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No one could have said it better than Coach Charlie Coles Wednesday when he called the game against Ball State University "A tale of two halves."
The RedHawks struggled from the field in the opening half and seemed to be content passing the ball around and firing a shot when the seconds began to wane from the shot clock. But in the second half, thanks to excellent guard play by seniors Carl Richburg and Michael Bramos, the RedHawks reasserted dominance and routed the Cardinals in a 59-41 win.
"Carl played really great for us tonight," Coles said. "My biggest mistake was probably taking him out early in the first half as we lost some steam going into the half. But in the second half Carl really gave us a lift."
The 'Hawks dominated the second half as their offense took shape, once again overcoming a somewhat slow start.
Coming into the game all eyes were on Ball State's heralded freshman Jarrod Jones, who posted explosive numbers earlier in the season. The freshman came into the game averaging 11.3 points per game and 7.3 rebounds. Coach Coles had Senior Adam Fletcher and Freshman Julian Muvunga to try to slow down the talented frosh, and they did not disappoint.
"Fletcher and Muvunga did a great job wearing him down," Coles said. "We were able to work on him and double team him in the post. He's only a freshman but so is Julian and they did a great job on him."
Jones went 3-7 from the field and did not reach the line once as he came away with a measly six points.
Perhaps the two most telling stats of the game were RedHawk ball distribution and lack of ball control by the Cardinals. Out assisting the Cardinals 13-6, the RedHawks once again dominated the game with unselfish passing and an impressive ability to find the open man. The Cardinals also, much to Coach Billy Taylor's displeasure, were turnover prone, producing 17 turnovers and many with not much aggression.
"It was poor execution on our part," Taylor said. "A lot of our turnovers were unforced. We had a lot of silly turnovers."
Michael Bramos, who generally faces the primary attention of opponents and is often double teamed, got just what wanted Wednesday night facing single coverage and a smaller defender.
"Getting more touches down low was key as they had a six foot guard covering me the whole night," Bramos said. "I tried to curl to the basket and get shots."
Bramos emerged as the leading scorer but it was really an effort from the entire team that put away the Cardinals.
"One of the keys tonight was the timely offensive rebounds by Fletcher, Dierkers and Muvunga," Coles said. "Muvunga played great tonight; he had two offensive rebounds for us that were huge. Really gave us that spark that we needed both times."
The three finished with 13 rebounds combined, but one of the RedHawks' Achilles heel in past games has been their opponents' ability to dominate the boards and grab offensive rebounds. Reversing that trend was huge.
The implications of the win far exceeded just another conference win as the Cardinals are currently the top dog in the West. This statement win gives the 'Hawks momentum heading into Saturday as they travel to Toledo University to face off against the Rockets. The Rockets are currently one of the cellar dwellers of the MAC but the RedHawks know better than to overlook them as it will no doubt be another tough test.
