ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Ball State (1-2) opened up the Jersey Mike's Classic with a 73-60 defeat to Florida International.
While it was the Cardinals second double-digit loss of the season, the final score wasn't indicative of how close the contest was throughout. Ball State jumped out to a hot start but went on scoring streaks and shot just 30.8% (4 of 13) from the free throw line. Florida International, meanwhile, went on a late run in which Ball State wasn't able to overcome.
Here are three takeaways from Ball State's defeat:
Ball State goes on streaks, gets cold late
Much like in its season opener against Georgia Southern, Ball State went back-and-forth with Florida International throughout most of this game.