Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
1-0
Northern Colorado
0-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Colorado | 18 | 24 | 42 |
| Ball State | 34 | 47 | 81 |
Men's Basketball Opens Season With Exciting Win Over Northern Colorado; Five Cardinals In Double Figures
November 11, 2006 | Men's Basketball
"I thought we played very hard," Thompson said. "I've been saying to the guys in practice to just give me everything they have and I think they did."
With his father John on site to watch, Ronny Thompson led the Cardinals to their 50th all-time home opener victory in commanding fashion.
Both teams started very slowly offensively and were plagued with turnovers, missed shots and fouls. After a tie at 8-8, Peyton scored a lay-up and the Cardinals never looked back.
"I kept telling our guys during timeouts, ?Don't get comfortable'," Thompson said. "I thought we did a lot of good things in the halfcourt and fullcourt. I was very pleased with the effort we gave on defense."
Outscoring Northern Colorado 26-10 in the final 13 minutes of the half, Ball State utilized its quick offense and tight defense to gain a 34-18 lead by the end of the first half.
Highlighting the first half for the Cardinals was Peyton who had 11 points and four rebounds. Sophomore Anthony Newell tallied eight rebounds in the first 20 minutes of play.
"Anthony has been great," Thompson said. "We've had a lot of talks. I've told him don't try to figure out what position you are, just be a basketball player."
The Cardinals forced 14 turnovers in the first half along with five steals, compared to Northern Colorado's one.
The second half was much the same as the Cardinals' quick tempo and relentless defense smothered Northern Colorado from the start. Ball State scored the first 10 points of the second half to push the score to 44-18.
Sophomore Jalon Perryman's moment came at 7:49 in the second half when he hit a three-pointer which was followed by a dunk. The run gave the Cardinals a 30-point lead, forced a timeout and brought the home crowd -- including the more than 1,000 students in The Nest --to its feet.
Peyton put the punctuation on the game with a lay-up to give the Cardinals a 41-point lead and season-opening win.
Peyton paced Ball State with a game-high 15 points, while Stovall chipped in 13 points in 28 minutes of action. Newell added 12 points while Perryman and newcomer Steve Horton each finished with 11 points.
Stovall returned to the court -- and the starting lineup -- for the first time in nearly a year.
"I felt great out there," Stovall said. "My teammates did a good job. We got our defense turned up and our offense was patient throughout the game."
Newell grabbed a career-high nine rebounds to lead the BSU defense. Peyton grabbed seven and Chris Ames added six. The Cardinals held a 42-32 edge on the boards, including 23 offensive rebounds.
"My role on the team is to play hard and bring the energy I know how to bring," Newell said. "I told myself that I was going to try and get as many rebounds as I could and just use my length to do that."
The Cardinals shot 43 percent (29-68) on the afternoon including 52 percent (17-33) in the second half, while the defense limited UNC to just 37 percent (16-43).
"We don't have a perfectly polished team," Thompson said. "I'm trying to get the guys to understand what we are and what our culture is going to be. We've got to continue to be blue collar and do all the little things it takes to win."
Ball State returns to action with the second of three-straight home games Nov. 19 against Prairie View A&M. Tip is scheduled for Noon at Worthen Arena and tickets are available by calling 1.888.BSU.TICKET or online at ballstatesports.com.
