Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
9-16, 5-7MAC
Northern Illinois
6-18, 3-9MAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball State | 40 | 17 | 57 |
| Northern Illinois | 31 | 24 | 55 |
Newell's Career-High 21 Leads Cardinals To Win At NIU
February 14, 2007 | Men's Basketball
DEKALB, Ill. -- Sophomore Anthony Newell hit a jumper in the lane with 1:40 remaining to give Ball State a 55-52 lead, then nailed a free throw with :06 on the clock for a career-high 21 points as the Cardinals picked up a 57-55 victory Tuesday at Northern Illinois.
The game was played in front of announced crowd of 475 fans with the blizzard-like conditions outside the Convocation Center in DeKalb, Ill.
"Anthony Newell has a tremendous upside and he showed that tonight in a big way," said BSU head coach Ronny Thompson. "He can score on the block and from the perimeter. We went to him in the second half and he delivered."
After holding a 40-31 lead at halftime, the Cardinals pushed their lead to 10 points to open the second half after a three-point field goal from freshman Ahmaad Cook.
The Huskies slowly chipped away at BSU's lead over the next 10 minutes however, and held BSU without a field goal for nearly nine minutes.
NIU's Zach Pancratz sparked the momentum for the home team with back-to-back threes to pull within 53-50 with 6:20 to play.
The Cardinals forced a shot-clock violation on the next possession, before Micah Rollin grabbed a steal with two minutes to go to set-up Newell's game winner.
"Tonight we came back after a disappointing performance at Miami with great focus on the defensive end," Thompson said. "We did a tremendous job in making plays when we needed them -- a big rebound here, Micah's steal, Anthony's free throw. We were able to get stops and make plays with the game on the line."
Peyton Stovall nailed a three-point field goal with :36 remaining in the first half, then added a pair of free throws with .04 seconds left to give BSU the 40-31 lead at halftime.
Newell sparked the Cardinals to an early 9-3 lead, before scoring seven of his 12 first-half points in the final six minutes to help BSU to the 40-31 edge.
Ball State played without the services of senior Skip Mills, who was diagnosed with a concussion prior to the team's trip to NIU Monday afternoon. Mills was in street clothes on the BSU bench and his status is listed as day-to-day.
In addition to Newell's 21 points, Stovall finished with 17 points as the only two Cardinals in double figures. Newell also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, while Rollin pulled down six.
Ball State improved to 9-16 overall and 5-7 in the MAC, while Northern Illinois fell to 6-18 overall and 3-9 in the league.
The Cardinals return to action Saturday with a ESPN BracketBusters contest at Illinois State. Game time is set for 4:05 p.m. (5:05 p.m. Muncie).
