
Newell & Stovall Lead BSU; Bulldogs Escape In Opener
November 10, 2007 | Men's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. -- After a spectacular opening presentation that brought over 7,000 Worthen Arena fans to their feet Friday night, the Cardinals tipped off the 87th season of Ball State Basketball against the Butler Bulldogs.
The season opener marked the Cardinals' first game under new head coach Billy Taylor, and despite 16 points from junior Anthony Newell and 13 points from senior Peyton Stovall, Ball State suffered a 61-45 setback.
The official attendance for Friday night's game was 7,331, including nearly 3,000 students in “The Nest.”
“It's thrilling to have the people out there,”
Junior Brandon Lampley would score the first bucket for the Cardinals off a screen by Malik Perry, tying the score at 2-2 before
“In the first 20 minutes, our guys were energized,”
Stovall came into the night needing 21 points to break the 1,000-point mark for his career. He connected for 13 points, pushing his current mark to 992. He also grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds and handed out three assists, while stealing one pass.
Newell led
“The first game was tough,” Stovall said. “We were a little too excited the first half. We put ourselves in a hole starting out, but it's something we're going to learn from. It's definitely good to start playing again.”
After only scoring 17 points in the first period, the Cardinals trailed by 16 at the intermission, before a second-half run pulled the game to within single digits in the second half.
“As soon as we came out in the second half, I said we're coming back,” Stovall said. "We chipped away, but
The Cardinals closed the gap to 39-31, before fouling senior guard Mike Green for the Bulldogs.
“I think it's a good little starting point,” Stovall said. “We just played a disciplined team. That's where we want to get, to be so disciplined it's hard to beat us. We learned some things about ourselves. We'll use that for these MAC games coming up in January.”
All nine players on the Ball State roster logged playing time, as
“We have a short rotation,”
“We have to compete and work harder than our opponent,”
The Cardinals return to the court for the second of four consecutive home games Nov. 14 against Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Tip is at 7 p.m. and tickets are available online or by calling 1.888.BSU.TICKET.