Foul trouble wears on ’Hawks

With key players on verge of early exits, Miami couldn’t play as aggressively.

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By Rick Cassano, Staff Writer Updated 2:25 AM Wednesday, January 27, 2010

MUNCIE, Ind. — Excessive fouling took its toll on Miami University’s men’s basketball team Tuesday night, Jan. 26, and not just in terms of who was on the floor for how long.

It wore on the RedHawks mentally as well in a 65-59 double-overtime loss to host Ball State before a crowd of 3,211 at Worthen Arena.

“That takes a lot of your aggression out,” said MU sophomore Julian Mavunga, who had four of the visitors’ 28 fouls. “We’re not very deep at the 4 and 5 positions, and they attacked our weakness.”

Jarrod Jones, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, powered the Cardinals’ inside attack with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Mavunga was limited to 29 of the contests 50 minutes, while center Adam Fletcher and guard Rodney Haddix both fouled out.

Ball State helped the Miami cause by missing nine foul shots after halftime, though the hosts ended up converting 26-of-37 freebies. The RedHawks were 16-of-19 at the line.

“They were awful tough inside,” MU coach Charlie Coles said. “They kept coming after us. I was told (Jones) was going to make this a big game. Guess what? He was the best player on the floor tonight.

“I thought this was going to be a battle,” he continued. “Who does it mean the most to? That was the challenge to our team, and we lost that challenge. It was a hard-fought game, but they outfought us. In the end, they were the men and we were the boys.”

Kenny’s haze

Senior guard Kenny Hayes had a tough night for Miami, sinking just 4-of-15 shots and scoring nine points.

Hayes misfired on a 3-pointer at the end of regulation and couldn’t get a driving layup to fall in the closing seconds of the game. His face was a picture of frustration.

Said Coles, “I thought Kenny psyched himself out a little bit.”

A streak ends

The RedHawks had trailed at halftime in their last 12 games before taking a 27-24 lead into intermission Tuesday.

On the boards

Antonio Ballard grabbed 11 boards (and scored seven points) for Miami, but the RedHawks still lost the rebounding battle 43-35.

Next game

MU will face Central Michigan at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Millett Hall.

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