Cardinals capitalize on 22 turnovers

By Christina Teller
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

LAHAINA, Hawaii “”mdash; Ball State beat No. 3 UCLA the same way
they had defeated No. 4 Kansas just over 24 hours before ““
from the three-point line and with a strong inside presence.

Didn’t UCLA study the box score where it said that Ball
State guard Chris Williams had 24 points, 21 of them in the first
half? And that Patrick Jackson had drained 23 points by the end of
the game, including two three- pointers and eight other points in
the first 20 minutes of play?

Didn’t they also take note that the 7-foot Lonnie Jones
was powerful inside and could block the ball with a forceful
swat?

They said they did, but it sure didn’t look like it.

Jackson lit up the Bruins, finishing with 23 points, including
five three-pointers.

Jones embarrassed Matt Barnes, Rico Hines and Billy Knight,
blocking four shots by the end of the game.

That, combined with the one-two punch of Williams, who together
made four more three-pointers, is how the Cardinals took home
another win.

And the Cardinals’ three-point shot was working so well
that the team attempted 34 of them in the game and still finished
with a 35.3 percent completion rate.

“We thought we’d get some open shots at the
three-point line,” Jones said. “We have real quick
guards and guards that can shoot. Our main focus was to try to
attack.”

But besides all of Ball State’s obvious weapons, the
Bruins gave them one more.

It was a gift in the form of 22 total turnovers, 12 coming in
the first half.

UCLA’s turnovers allowed Ball State to get more shots off.
In fact the Cardinals took 21 more shots than the Bruins.
Twenty-one. That’s good for 42 more points, at the least.

The shots starting falling for Ball State in the opening of the
second half as they erupted with a 23-9 run, forcing UCLA to play
catch-up and taking the Bruins out of their offensive rhythm.

“They’re a good basketball team, and we didn’t
play well. That’s why there was such a disparity,” UCLA
head coach Steve Lavin. “They deserve credit for knocking off
two of the top-five teams and have put themselves in position to
knock off a third (Duke) tomorrow.”

Against Kansas, Ball State held the Jayhawks to zero-percent
three-point rate in the second half. Against UCLA, Ball State
decreased the Bruins’ shooting percentage from 52 in the
first half to just 34.5 in the second.

And at the TV timeout with 3:28 left in the game, the announcer
read off the times for the games on Wednesday.

A roar erupted from the red-clad cheering contingent when the
championship game time was announced.

The game was already over.

Another top-five team, upset by an unranked team.

UCLA should have seen it coming.