Before Ball State men’s basketball made its way to Estero, Florida for the Gulf Coast Showcase, Cardinals’ head coach Michael Lewis didn’t like the state of his team. They were 1-4, and as he put it, ‘playing selfish basketball.’

Even though the Cardinals (3-5) fell to Richmond 73-60 in the tournament finale tonight, Lewis saw the improvement he wanted from his roster as they finished the event going 2-1.

“We got to continue to improve, but I thought we took some real steps to improve [this week],” Lewis said.

The first half against the Spiders (4-4) was highlighted by Ball State’s play. Junior guards Jemahri Hill and Juanse Gorosito both had success in the early minutes. Hill finished the contest leading the black and red with 22 points. Gorosito had 18 and was 6-for-10 from 3-point range.

“We had good ball movement,” Gorosito said. “I had some wide-open shots and my teammates passed me the ball.”

Lewis liked what he saw when it came to Ball State’s ball movement. After committing zero turnovers in the first half, the Cardinals ended the match with only three. This is an area the third-year head coach has discussed at length to start the 2024-254 campaign.

To him, part of the issue has been because it’s a brand new roster with new pieces. With the transfer portal, he said you’re in ‘rebuild mode’ every year. But he believes Hill and Gorosito’s performances show growth.

“I think both of them have different paths and they've been good,” he said. “… Hill’s really grown as a player in the last month…. [Gorosito] is figuring out where he fits on this team and what he can do to contribute to winning.”

Though the Cardinals held a halftime lead of 33-30 and led as much as 48-37 in the second half, the black and red could not hold down the Spiders forever. After going on a 24-2 run in the middle of the half, Richmond never lost its momentum on offense. Add in the Cardinals going cold – they went 3-for-13 from deep in the second half– the outcome was inevitable.

To Lewis, it’s an opportunity the team wasted. With Richmond being an Atlantic Ten team, it was an even bigger chance for the Cardinals to do something special.

“In reality, if we played [Richmond] during the regular season, they wouldn't come to Muncie. It would be $100,000 to go there… We gotta grow, and like I said, it was disappointing because of the position that we were in.”

Though the final contest was a loss, the Cardinals still think the three-day road trip was successful as they learned a lot about each other. To the players, it can help them going forward.

“The last three days have been good for us because we’re closer as a team,” Hill said. “We’re really seeing how good we can be.”

Ball State will next travel to face SIUE Sunday, Dec. 8. Tip Off is set for 2 p.m. The Cardinals have 10 days off before that contest comes and including that game, they only play four times until Mid-American Conference play begins January 4.

Though there will be less gameplay and more practice time, Lewis believes this week’s results will help the team going forward and give them a good mindset.

“We are a lot better leaving here than when we were coming in,” Lewis said.

Contact Zach Carter at zachary.carter@bsu.edu or on X @ZachCarter85.

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