Jermahri Hill looks down the court with the basketball in his hands. There are 8.8 seconds remaining as Ball State men’s basketball and Eastern Michigan are tied 84-84 in overtime.

“Coach trusted me enough to put the ball in my hands, and I saw the two guards playing up high,” Hill said. “So I just tried to get down there. It’s either gonna be the last shot or we gonna go to [a second] overtime.”

The junior guard moves down the floor and cuts past two defenders. He goes up and slams it home.

Ballgame. Ball State defeated the Eagles 86-84.

“Are you viral yet?” Ball State head coach Michael Lewis asked Hill when walking into the post-game press conference.

Tuesday’s Mid-American Conference contest at Worthen Arena began with Ball State in control as they led 10-3 after an early 7-1 scoring run. After that, the Eagles came out swinging, clawing their way back into the game.

However, Ball State’s (12-12, 5-6 MAC) defense was able to guard the white and green and not allow the Eagles to find much momentum throughout the first half.

“The thing that I'm probably most proud of is that I thought we really guarded the first half,” Lewis said. “I thought defensively, [we were] pretty good.”

But while the Cardinals found success on the defensive unit, things changed in the second half. It wasn’t just the defensive effort, however, as Ball State struggled to shoot the basketball after halftime. The red and white finished the opening half going 15-for-28 (53.6 percent), and they shot 10-for-21 (47.6 percent) in the second half.

“I thought we were a little clunky offensively all night,” Lewis said. “They did some stuff by changing up defenses [and] we didn't handle it particularly well … We just couldn't get in the flow of operating in the way we wanted [or] efficiently enough for my personal liking.”

While the Cardinals led 47-41 at the 15-minute mark, the Eagles’ (11-13, 4-7 MAC) efficient offensive playstyle capitalized in the final 10 minutes. With 1:40 remaining in the second half, the game was tied 72-72. Following that, turnovers and some whistles by the officials plagued both teams.

“A lot of things didn't go our way, and some things are going to have to be explained to me, honestly,” Lewis said. “But they didn't go our way, and it didn't break us. I think maybe early in the year, that would have broken us, and we wouldn't have been able to do the things that we needed to do to win.”

After a successful free throw from senior center Payton Sparks — who had 19 points and was 9-for-11 from the foul line — the game was tied 75-75 with 12.9 seconds to play in regulation. Eastern Michigan could not get a bucket on the other end and the game had to be finished in overtime.

Before he went on to win the game with a dunk, Hill — who finished the game leading the Cardinals with 21 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists (a season-high) — opened the extra period of play with a put-back dunk.

But his good play in the period did not end there. With 20.9 seconds remaining in overtime, Hill forced a shot clock violation on the Eagles with a block. Seconds later, he dunked the game-winning basket. While Eastern Michigan had 2.8 seconds to win the game, the 3-point attempt clanked off the front of the rim, leading to Hill being swarmed by the Cardinals.

“On the last play, [Eastern Michigan] didn't have a timeout,” Lewis said. “I didn't want to call a timeout to allow them to set up their defense. If I had to call the time out, I'm just drawing something to get the ball in [Hill’s] hands anyway. I knew where it was going, and he made a hell of a play.”

Just weeks ago, Lewis talked about the team's mindset being in a rough spot. The silence in the locker room after losses was noticeable. However, tonight’s post-game celebration was much more positive.

“We've gotten better. These guys have gotten better,” Lewis said. “It hasn't always been easy, it hasn't been smooth but we've gotten better … We got to continue to get better to achieve the things that we want to achieve.”

Though the winning dunk might seem like a SportsCenter Top 10 play, it’s much more to the Cardinals than a highlight. With seven games left in MAC play, the team believes this could be something that leads to more success.

“We got everything we need,” Hill said. “We just got to tighten up little mistakes toward the end [of games]. The game really shouldn't have been that close, but I'm just glad we found a way to make it out of it.”

Though the players have an idea of what needs to happen, so does Lewis. He’s been in this situation as a player at Indiana University, an assistant coach at multiple universities, and now the head coach of Ball State.

“We just got to try to stay even keel, like we talked about before we started playing games … We got to keep the big picture in mind of where we want to be at the end of the year,” Lewis said. “Do the things that put you in a position to do that. Tonight was a step, [but] it's not done.”

Ball State will return to Worthen Arena Saturday, Feb. 15 to play Northern Illinois (5-19, 1-10 MAC). It will start at 2 p.m.

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

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