Saturday, January 13
Kalamazoo, Mich.
4:30 PM ET
Ball State University
11-6, 2-2MAC
58
at
73
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Western Michigan
11-6, 3-1MAC
1
2
F
Ball State
25
33
58
Western Michigan
36
37
73
Photo by: Justin Casterline
Western Michigan Rides Hot Start to Win over Men’s Hoops
January 13, 2018 | Men's Basketball
Senior Sean Sellers becomes 30th member of Cardinals’ 1,000-point club
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Western Michigan got off to a fast start and led throughout Saturday to hand the Ball State men's basketball team a 73-58 loss.
Sean Sellers joined Ball State's 1,000-point club, while a pair of point guards led the Cardinals in scoring. Tayler Persons finished with 13 points and five assists, while Ishmael El-Amin came off the bench to add 11 points.
But Ball State (11-6, 2-2 MAC) could never dig its way out of an early hole created by Western Michigan's 8-for-9 shooting start from the floor. The Broncos built a double-digit lead less than 5 minutes into the game, and the Cardinals spent the rest of the game playing catch-up.
Western Michigan (11-6, 3-1 MAC) hit 9 of 18 3-pointers to stay out in front, and the Broncos beat the Cardinals to 13 offensive rebounds.
"Western Michigan was very physical around the rim, and I thought that was part of the story of the game," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "I thought they played a really good game. I thought we kept competing all the way through, shared the ball and tried to play the game the right way. We just had a tough one."
Sellers, a senior from Greensburg, Indiana, had nine points on a trio of 3-pointers to become the 30th player to score 1,000 points in a Ball State uniform. Fellow senior Francis Kiapway hit two 3-pointers of his own to take over sole possession of second place on the Cardinals' career list for 3's. He now has 205 and trails only Jesse Berry (224). Sellers is tied for third on that list with 203.
Ball State fought back to cut a 16-point deficit to 33-25 on a 3-pointer from El-Amin late in the first half. But Michael Flowers answered with a trey for Western Michigan, and then the Broncos scored the first six points of the second half to push their lead to 42-25.
The lead swelled to as many as 20, but Ball State continued to claw back. The Cardinals pulled within 10 on another El-Amin 3 with 3:45 to play, but that was as close as they could get.
Ball State finished 8 for 28 as a team from 3-point range on the way to its lowest point total of the season. Despite Western Michigan's good shooting performance from deep, the Broncos finished at just 38 percent from the floor for the game.
Returning All-MAC guard Thomas Wilder led Western Michigan with 14 points and eight assists, but the Cardinals held him to 3-for-11 shooting.
Ball State center Trey Moses came up just shy of another double-double with nine points and nine rebounds Saturday. It was the first of two meetings between the teams, who will get together Feb. 23 in Muncie.
The Cardinals will return home to continue league play Tuesday with a 7 p.m. tipoff against Central Michigan. It will be Taco Tuesday at Worthen Arena presented by Kroger's Pay Less. The first 500 students will receive a free walking taco, while any fan may purchase one at the concessions stands for just $4.
Ball State will also hold its Deans' Shootout, which will pit deans from various colleges on campus against each other in a halftime free throw shooting contest.
Sean Sellers joined Ball State's 1,000-point club, while a pair of point guards led the Cardinals in scoring. Tayler Persons finished with 13 points and five assists, while Ishmael El-Amin came off the bench to add 11 points.
But Ball State (11-6, 2-2 MAC) could never dig its way out of an early hole created by Western Michigan's 8-for-9 shooting start from the floor. The Broncos built a double-digit lead less than 5 minutes into the game, and the Cardinals spent the rest of the game playing catch-up.
Western Michigan (11-6, 3-1 MAC) hit 9 of 18 3-pointers to stay out in front, and the Broncos beat the Cardinals to 13 offensive rebounds.
"Western Michigan was very physical around the rim, and I thought that was part of the story of the game," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "I thought they played a really good game. I thought we kept competing all the way through, shared the ball and tried to play the game the right way. We just had a tough one."
Sellers, a senior from Greensburg, Indiana, had nine points on a trio of 3-pointers to become the 30th player to score 1,000 points in a Ball State uniform. Fellow senior Francis Kiapway hit two 3-pointers of his own to take over sole possession of second place on the Cardinals' career list for 3's. He now has 205 and trails only Jesse Berry (224). Sellers is tied for third on that list with 203.
Ball State fought back to cut a 16-point deficit to 33-25 on a 3-pointer from El-Amin late in the first half. But Michael Flowers answered with a trey for Western Michigan, and then the Broncos scored the first six points of the second half to push their lead to 42-25.
The lead swelled to as many as 20, but Ball State continued to claw back. The Cardinals pulled within 10 on another El-Amin 3 with 3:45 to play, but that was as close as they could get.
Ball State finished 8 for 28 as a team from 3-point range on the way to its lowest point total of the season. Despite Western Michigan's good shooting performance from deep, the Broncos finished at just 38 percent from the floor for the game.
Returning All-MAC guard Thomas Wilder led Western Michigan with 14 points and eight assists, but the Cardinals held him to 3-for-11 shooting.
Ball State center Trey Moses came up just shy of another double-double with nine points and nine rebounds Saturday. It was the first of two meetings between the teams, who will get together Feb. 23 in Muncie.
The Cardinals will return home to continue league play Tuesday with a 7 p.m. tipoff against Central Michigan. It will be Taco Tuesday at Worthen Arena presented by Kroger's Pay Less. The first 500 students will receive a free walking taco, while any fan may purchase one at the concessions stands for just $4.
Ball State will also hold its Deans' Shootout, which will pit deans from various colleges on campus against each other in a halftime free throw shooting contest.
Team Stats
BSU
WMU
FG%
.415
.383
3FG%
.286
.500
FT%
.600
.692
RB
35
40
TO
15
8
STL
3
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG/F
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