Correction: The original headline read “Men’s basketball takes fifth MAC loss.”

The headline has been changed to reflect the correct amount of losses.

Men’s basketball (18-9, 7-7 MAC) fell to Ball State University (18-9, 9-5 MAC) 63-59 on Friday in a game that would have put the team in a first place tie in the MAC West.

Both teams played evenly throughout the first half, with neither team holding a bigger lead than three. The Cardinals took a 16-15 lead after going on a 6-0 run with 7:53 left in the half. Ball State took its biggest lead of the half, 21-18, with less than four minutes to play before the break. The teams entered the intermission tied at 24.

The Cardinals opened the second half on an 11-4 run and led 43-32 with 11:32 left to play. NIU sophomore center Marin Maric picked up his fourth foul with 7:57 left to play and Ball State pushed its lead up to 12 following his departure.

A triple by senior guard Travon Baker trimmed the Cardinals lead to 53-46 with 3:58 remaining. The Huskies cut the lead to six but Ball State held on for the victory.

Baker led the Huskies with 19 points and Maric contributed 13 points on 5-7 shooting and 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Francis Kiapway and junior forward Franko House led the Cardinals with 11 points each while senior forward Bo Calhoun scored 10 points and grabbed 15 boards. Sophomore guard Jeremie Tyler and sophomore forward Sean Sellers also scored 10 points each for Ball State.

NIU held the Cardinals to 39.6 percent shooting (21-53) but shot just 31.6 percent (18-57) themselves. The Huskies dished out nine assists and committed just five turnovers. Ball State had 15 assists and 11 turnovers. NIU held a 20-17 edge in bench points and a 24-18 edge in points in the paint. Both teams had 10 second-chance points.

“I loved the effort on defense, I thought we played hard,” said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery, according to an NIU Athletics news release. “Unfortunately we could not get it going offensively, we hung around, but sooner or later your playmakers have to make plays, and Ball State’s did.

“It comes down to the little things, even after a slow start to the second half, we still had 18 minutes left. There were a lot of little things that cost us tonight.”

NIU returns to action as it faces off against Central Michigan University at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Mount Pleasant, Mich. and on ESPN3.