2008 Woodie Awards
MEN'S BASKETBALL: Undermanned Cardinals nearly upset Georgetown
Stovall scores 16 as Ball State falls to 0-3
Andy Roberts
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Newell, the Cardinals' 6'5" junior forward, fractured his foot in practice Tuesday.
The sentiment was certainly shared by many of the fans in attendance for the defeat, which saw the Cardinals pull as close as six points with two minutes to play before falling to 0-3 for the first time since the 1973-74 season.
"We'd have loved to have Anthony out there," Ball State coach Billy Taylor said. "But I couldn't be more proud of the effort we put out there tonight."
Despite the absence of Newell and 7'2" center Roy Hibbert towering over every Cardinals' player, Ball State managed to hold Georgetown's rebounding advantage to five for the game. 5'9" Cardinals' guard Melvin Goins pulled down seven rebounds, the same amount as Hibbert managed.
"Melvin came out and played well," Stovall said. "Our young guys gave us a lot of energy."
One burst of energy brought the Worthen Arena crowd back into the game with ten minutes left in the 2nd half. Hibbert went up for a layup only to be rejected by Cardinals' junior forward Rob Giles, who is ten inches shorter than Hibbert. Ball State then got the ball to Goins for a layup that cut the Hoyas' lead to ten. The crowd, and the Cardinals, remained intense for the remainder of the game.
Ball State's defensive game plan was to contain Hibbert with a zone defense. Georgetown obliged by shooting 25 three-pointers, making seven. Taylor said he was impressed with his team's execution.
"Roy Hibbert's a player of the year candidate," Taylor said. "We had to give something up. I thought we were able to get some stops and get some rebounds."
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