Ball State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Travels To Toledo For Thursday Game
February 27, 2007 | Men's Basketball
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THE SERIES: Toledo leads 37-33.
COACHES: Ball State Coach Ronny Thompson (9-19) is in his first season as head coach . . . Toledo Coach Stan Joplin (189-134) in 11th season.
ABOUT THE GAME
Ball State and Toledo will be meeting for the second time this season Thursday at Savage Hall . . . The game will mark the second-to-last regular-season contest for both teams . . . The Rockets escaped Muncie with a 62-60 win in the first meeting Jan. 6 . . . Ball State is 9-19 overall and 5-9 in the Mid-American Conference . . . Toledo is 16-11 overall and 12-2 in the league.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Anthony Newell (Chicago, Ill./Simeon H.S.) scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Skip Mills (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central H.S.) added 13 points and six boards in a 61-51 setback last Sunday at Eastern Michigan . . . BSU was limited to just nine points over the last 11:58 of the game en route to the loss . . . Defensively, the Cardinals were able to put a lot of pressure on the Eagles, forcing 23 turnovers in the contest . . . However, on the offensive side of the ball, the Cardinals hit just 18-of-57 shots for 31.6 percent . . . Eastern Michigan converted on 20-of -43 shots for 46.5 percent . . . No other Cardinal scored more than five points on the afternoon.
ABOUT THE ROCKETS
Toledo secured its spot on top of the MAC West Division with a 79-75 overtime win last Sunday at Western Michigan . . . Keonta Howell scored a game-high 21 points, while Florentino Valencia added 20 points for the Rockets . . . For the season, Howell leads UT with 15.4 points per contest, while Justin Ingram is second on the team with 14.7 points per game . . . The Rockets are 16-11 overall, 12-2 in the league, 8-1 at home, 6-7 on the road and 2-3 on a neutral court . . . In MAC games, UT is a perfect 6-0 at Savage Hall.
THE SERIES WITH TOLEDO
Thursday's game will be the 71st meeting in the all-time series -- and the second this season -- between Ball State and Toledo . . . Toledo leads the all-time series 37-33, including a 62-60 win Jan. 6 in Muncie . . . The Rockets have won two straight . . . UT owns a 23-9 edge in games played at Savage Hall . . . BSU has not won at Toledo since a 68-59 decision Jan. 12, 2002.
EARLIER THIS YEAR -- TOLEDO 62, BSU 60
Justin Ingram nailed an off-balance jumper with 0.5 seconds remaining to give Toledo a 62-60 win in Muncie Jan. 6 . . . The game was the league opener for both schools . . . Since that time Toledo has posted an 11-2 record, while BSU is 5-8 in league games . . .Anthony Newell scored a BSU-high 11 points and grabbed seven boards . . . Peyton Stovall scored 10 points . . .Keonta Howell's 16 points paced the Rockets.
WAS SUNDAY A MAC TOURNEY PREVIEW?
If the Mid-American Conference season ended today, Ball State would be the No. 8 seed and Eastern Michigan would be the No. 9 seed in the postseason MAC Tournament which begins March 7 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio . . . The two teams would meet in the first round . . . BSU finishes the season at Toledo March 1 and vs. Western Michigan March 4 in Muncie . . . The Eagles are at Central Michigan and at Northern Illinois to end the year.
5-5-5 FOR LAMPLEY
Brandon Lampley recorded season highs in five categories in the Feb. 22 loss to Central Michigan . . . He scored a season-best five points, with a career-high five rebounds and five assists against the Chippewas . . . Lampley, a walk-on member of the team, also logged a season-high 23 minutes at point for BSU.
ALL AMES ON THE MAC
Chris Ames recorded a season-high 11 points -- just one point shy of his BSU career high -- in the Feb. 22 loss to Central Michigan . . . Through 14 league games, Ames is shooting 77 percent from the floor (27-of-35) . . . He has handed out 11 assists and recorded 14 steals against MAC foes.
NEWELL-NEWELL
Anthony Newell recorded his fourth double-double of the season and the fifth of his career with a career-high 21 points and 12 rebounds Feb. 13 at Northern Illinois . . . With his team-high 17 points last Sunday at Eastern Michigan, Newell has scored in double figures in eight of BSU's last nine games and in 21 of BSU's 28 games this season.
MORE ON THE SCRAPPY CARDS
Behind a team-best average of 7.6 rebounds from Anthony Newell, Ball State has out-rebounded 12 opponents this season . . . In addition, Ball State has forced 69 more opponent turnovers than it has committed . . . The Cardinals have also recorded 69 more steals than their opponents.
COOKING UP A LINEUP CHANGE
Ball State used its seventh different starting lineup of the season Feb. 13 at Northern Illinois . . . Ahmaad Cook recorded his first collegiate start against the Huskies and has returned to the lineup in each game since . . . Cook has played in 17 games for the Cardinals and is averaging 8.0 minutes per game . . . Since January, Cook has played in 13 games with four starts . . . He has scored seven-or-more points in three of the last five outings.
MORE ON THE FIVE MAC WINS
In Ball State's five Mid-American Conference wins, three Cardinals averaged double figures . . . Skip Mills leads the charge, averaging 18.3 points per contest . . . In addition, Anthony Newell averaged 15.2 points and a team-best 7.8 rebounds, while Peyton Stovall averaged 13.4 points per game . . . D'Andre Peyton is at 9.0 points per contest in the five league victories.
702 & COUNTING
Ball State's 70-61 victory Jan. 16 over Northern Illinois allowed the Cardinals to reach the 700-win plateau in home games . . . The Cardinals now own an all-time record of 702-292 in games played in Muncie . . . As noted below, BSU is 170-52 in Worthen Arena . . . BSU's first season of basketball was 1920-21 and the Cardinals posted a 1-1 record at home . . . BSU's best home record in school history was its 15-1 mark in 1992-93.
THE HOMECOURT POWERED BY “THE NEST”
Ball State owns an all-time record of 170-52 at Worthen Arena for a .765 winning percentage . . . Worthen Arena is the toughest place to play in the Mid-American Conference and ranks 55th overall out of 334 Division I teams according to RPIratings.com.
THE SCORING MILL
Skip Mills scored 20 points Feb. 7 vs. Buffalo for his fourth 20-point scoring effort of the season . . . Against Ohio Jan. 28, he posted his third 20-point scoring effort . . . Mills poured in a season-high 26 points Dec. 22 at Tennessee State . . . The effort was his first 20-plus scoring game of the season . . . He added his second 20-plus effort Jan. 9 at Western Michigan.
