Ball State University Athletics
Men's Hoops Hosts SIU-Edwardsville Saturday At 2 p.m.
November 21, 2008 | Men's Basketball
What's On Tap . . .
The Cardinals return home for the second of three straight Saturday afternoon home contests as they welcome in SIU-Edwardsville to Worthen Arena ... The game is the first ever meeting between Ball State and SIUE ... Ball State enters the game with a 1-1 record on the year ... SIUE enters the game with a 1-3 record ... The Cougars are transitioning to Division I basketball and are in the reclassification process ... SIUE will play a full Division I schedule this season and will become a full Division I member for the 2012-13 season.
Home Sweet Home . . .
Today's game marks the 239th game for the Cardinals in Worthen Arena (previously University Arena) since its opening January 15, 1992 ... Ball State owns a 175-63 record all-time in Worthen Arena, which is good for .735 winning percentage ... The Cardinals opened the 2008-09 season with their 175th career victory in Worthen Arena as they downed Eastern Illinois 72-59 ... Ball State has averaged just over 10 wins per season at home since Worthen Arena opened its doors.
Looking Back At The Butler Game . . .
Ball State suffered its first loss of the 2008-09 season Wednesday night as the Cardinals dropped a 64-55 contest at instate rival Butler ... The game was the 100th career meeting between the Cardinals and the Bulldogs ... The Cardinals shot 42.3 percent from the field compared to 38.9 percent from the field by Butler ... Ball State also held an advantage on the glass as it out-rebounded the Bulldogs by a 40-32 margin ... The Cardinals however committed 16 turnovers to Butler's six turnovers.
Senior forward Anthony Newell and freshman forward Jarrod Jones both recorded double-doubles in the loss ... Newell led all scorers with 17 points while also grabbing 11 rebounds ... Jones picked up 14 points and added a game-high 12 rebounds.
Senior guard Laron Frazier chipped in 10 points on the strength of four-of-seven shooting from the field ... Classmate Brandon Lampley added eight points in his second start of the season as he was two-of-two from three-point land.
Double-Dipping . . .
Freshman forward Jarrod Jones and senior forward Anthony Newell both posted double-doubles in the Cardinals' loss at Butler Wednesday ... They are the first Cardinals to post a double-double in the same game since Robert Owns and Cameron Echols both accomplished the feat February 6, 2003.
Jones has recorded two double-doubles in his first two career collegiate games ... He recorded 21 points and 13 rebounds in his collegiate debut against Eastern Illinois before scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 rebounds at Butler ... He is the only player in the Mid-American Conference to open the season with back-to-back double-doubles this year ... He is the first Cardinal to accomplish the feat in two straight games since Newell recorded two straight last season against Buffalo and Toledo.
The last two Cardinals to record three straight double-doubles in a season were Newell and Terrance Chapman ... Newell accomplished the feat three straight games in the 2006-07 season from March 1 through March 7 ... Chapman tallied three straight during the 2004-05 season between January 29 and February 3.
Newell's double-double at Butler was the 13th double-dip of his career and the first of this season ... He scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against the Bulldogs.
Cardinals In MAC Stats . . .
Through the first two games of the season, the Cardinals have a couple of players sprinkled throughout the Mid-American Conference individual statistic rankings.
Freshman forward Jarrod Jones leads the MAC entering today's game in rebounding at 12.5 boards per game ... Jones is also tied for 11th in scoring at 17.5 points and is second in field goal percentage at 65 percent.
Senior forward Anthony Newell is eighth in the MAC in scoring at 18.0 points per game ... He is fifth in the league on the glass at 8.5 caroms per contest ... Senior guard Brandon Lampley is tied for third in the MAC in assists at 5.00 per game ... Classmate Laron Frazier is 11th in the conference at 3.00 assists per game and leads the MAC in assist/turnover ratio as he has six assists and no turnovers on the year.
Fast Starts . . .
The Cardinals came out of the gate quickly against Eastern Illinois as they scored 43 first half points ... The 43 points are the most for a BSU team in a single half since a 43-point effort in the second half versus Central Michigan on Jan. 13, 2008 ... In addition, the 43 points are the most in a first half for the Cardinals since the team collected 49 in the opening frame versus Western Michigan on March 5, 2005.
The Cardinals also owned a 19-point lead five different times in the victory ... The 19-point lead marks the largest lead for the Cardinals since a 19-point edge versus IPFW on Dec. 31, 2007 ... Also, the 13-point margin of victory over Eastern Illinois is the largest since a 21-point, 61-40, win over Valparaiso on Dec. 16, 2006.
Freshman Starts . . .
Head coach Billy Taylor had two true freshmen in the starting lineup in the 2008-09 season opener as forwards Jarrod Jones and Mo Hubbard got their first career starts against Eastern Illinois ... This is the second straight year that Taylor has started two true freshmen to open the season ... Last year, forward Malik Perry and guard Melvin Goins started in the season opener against Butler.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters today's game with a 1-1 record on the season ... The Cardinals opened the year with a victory over Eastern Illinois before falling Wednesday at Butler.
The Cardinals are averaging 63.5 points per game this season while allowing 61.5 point per game ... Ball State has connected on 42.6 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from three-point land ... Opponents are shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from long range.
Senior forward Anthony Newell leads the team in scoring at 18.0 points per game ... Newell is second on the team in rebounding at 8.5 boards per game ... Freshman forward Jarrod Jones is second on the team in scoring at 17.5 points per game ... Jones leads the team on the glass at 12.5 caroms per contest.
Senior guard Laron Frazier is third on the team in scoring at 9.5 points per game ... Classmate Brandon Lampley adds 7.5 points per contest, while junior forward Eric Wormely adds 3.0 rebounds per game.
Scouting The Cougars . . .
SIU-Edwardsville enters today's game with a 1-3 overall record on the season ... The Cougars have dropped games against College of Charleston, East Tennessee State and Wisconsin ... SIUE picked up its first Division I victory against Mid-American Conference foe Western Michigan last weekend.
The Cougars are averaging 67.2 points per game this season and are allowing 74.2 points per game ... SIUE is shooting 42.8 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from three-point land ... Opponents are shooting 46.8 percent from the field against SIUE and 42.9 percent from long range.
Mark Yelovich leads the team in scoring as he is averaging 15.3 points per game ... Yelovich has only played three of the four games for SIUE as he sat out of the Wisconsin contest ... Barry Wellington is second on the team in scoring at 14.0 points per game ... Wellington has connected on 50 percent (six-of-12) from three-point land this season.
834 and Counting . . .
Senior forward Anthony Newell enters the season within reach of becoming the 25th player in Ball State history to reach the 1,000-Point Club ... He enters today's game with 834 career points after averaging 18.0 points per game during the first two contests of the season ... He has scored in double figures 47 times in his career (47-of-75), including 19 times last year and twice this season ... He has reached 20-plus points on 10 different occasions in his career.
Top 20 In Sight . . .
Senior forward Anthony Newell is also in reach of the top 20 all-time rebounders in Ball State history ... Newell enters today's game with 480 career rebounds, which is just 11 shy of 20th place all-time ... Former Cardinal Skip Mills is 20th all-time in rebounding at 491 boards ... Only 18 players in BSU history have reached 500 career rebounds ... Ed Butler holds the Ball State career record for caroms with 1,231 boards.
Cardinals Sign Two Recruits . . .
Head coach Billy Taylor and his staff announced the signings of Huzie Hambrite and Jauwan Scaife to national letters of intent Friday during the early signing period.
Hambrite, a 6-0 guard from Indianapolis, is entering his second year at Lake Land College after playing at Indianapolis Northwest High School ... He led the Lakers in scoring last season as a freshman as he averaged 16 points per game, while also leading the team in assists (101) and steals (29) ... He opened his sophomore season Wednesday with 12 points and six assists as he led Lake Land to a 93-76 victory over Parkland College.
Scaife, a 6-2 guard from Muncie, is entering his senior season at Muncie Central High School ... He averaged 14.5 points per game and 4.1 rebounds per contest as a junior ... He made 46.9 percent of his field goals, including a 46.8 percent clip from three-point land ... He was tabbed as the “Top Sleeper” in the 2008-09 Indiana senior class by the Rick Bolus High Potential Report.
Cardinals Name Captains . . .
Second-year head coach Billy Taylor has announced his 2008-09 team captains in seniors Anthony Newell, Brandon Lampley, Laron Frazier and Rob Giles ... The four players combined to play in 103 games last year, including 47 starts ... This marks the second straight season that Newell has been one of the team's captains.
Newell Preseason All-MAC . . .
Senior forward Anthony Newell was named to the preseason All-Mid-American Conference West Division team by the league head coaches and the MAC media members ... Newell, a team captain, earned Honorable Mention All-MAC honors last season despite missing nine games due to an injury ... He led the team in scoring at 16.9 points per game and in rebounding at 8.0 caroms per contest last season ... He would have finished the season tied for the MAC lead in scoring and second in rebounding if he had appeared in enough games to qualify.
Newell scored in double figures in 19 of his 21 games last season, including six games of 20-plus points ... He played in all 16 conference games for the Cardinals, averaging 16.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, to rank second and third in the league, respectively. ... He enters the season as the Cardinals' most experienced player have seen action in 73 career games with 42 career starts ... He enters his senior season having scored 798 career points and notching 463 career rebounds.
Walking The Stage . . .
The Cardinals have a unique situation this season as two of their four seniors, Anthony Newell and Brandon Lampley, received their bachelor degrees this summer ... Newell became the first member of his family to earn a degree as he received a bachelor of science in criminal justice ... He is working on a second bachelor degree this season ... Lampley also graduated this summer as he earned his degree in english studies ... He is working on his master's degree in secondary education this season.
Eight New Faces . . .
The Cardinals welcome in eight newcomers this season in the form of three transfers and five freshmen ... Forward Terrence Watson joins the Cardinals as a senior and will sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules after coming to BSU from Ole Miss ... Also transferring into Ball State is junior college guard Brawley Chisholm and JUCO forward Eric Wormely.
The Cardinals' five freshmen include guard Randy Davis, guard Pierre Sneed, forward Maurice Hubbard, forward Jarrod Jones and center Zach Fields ... This five-member freshman class marks the largest class of true freshmen for the Cardinals since the 1994-95 season when Ball State also welcomed in five freshmen ... The five freshmen that season were Antwaan Jones, Ryan Reed, Charles Smith, Steve Smith and Bonzi Wells.
Brought To New Heights . . .
Last season, the Cardinals' tallest player on the team was 6-foot 5-inch forward Anthony Newell ...This season, Ball State brings a markedly taller version of the Cardinals to the court ... Ball State has four players this season that are taller than 6-5 including forward Maurice Hubbard (6-6), forward Eric Wormely (6-8), forward Jarrod Jones (6-9) and center Zach Fields (6-10) ... Newell is the fifth tallest player on the team this year.
New Faces On The Sidelines . . .
Second-year head coach Billy Taylor has a new look with him on the sidelines this season as Jay Newberry has moved from director of basketball operations to assistant coach this year ... Newberry takes over the assistant coach spot that was vacated when Jim Molinari was hired as the head coach of Western Illinois this off season.
Also, former Missouri Southern assistant coach Matt Laur has been added to the BSU staff as the director of basketball operations this season ... Both Laur and Newberry join Bob Simmons and Joseph Price on Taylor's staff.
88th Season Underway . . .
Ball State is in its 88th season in program history ... The Cardinals have posted a 1066-964-1 record all-time, which is good for a .525 winning percentage ... Ball State is 707-304 all-time at home in Muncie as the Cardinals have won 69.9 percent of games at home.
Taylor's Defensive Prowess . . .
The trademark of a Billy Taylor led team begins on the defensive end of the court and that was no different last year in Taylor's first season at Ball State ... The Cardinals' defense finished the year fourth in the Mid-American Conference in scoring defense as it held opponents to 63.9 points per game ... The Cardinals held their opponents under 65 points in 19 of 30 games last year.
Through the first two games of the season, the Cardinals are holding opponents to 61.5 points per game ... The scoring defense is fifth in the MAC so far this season.
BSU Picked Fifth In MAC West . . .
The Cardinals were tabbed to finish fifth in the Mid-American Conference West Division in the preseason poll conducted by league coaches and members of the MAC News Media Association ... Western Michigan was selected to capture the league's West Division title, picking up 122 points ... Eastern Michigan (122 points) was chosen second, followed by Central Michigan (79 points), Toledo (71 points), Ball State (55 points) and Northern Illinois (39 points).
Voting for the East Division saw Kent State come out on top, earning 122 points ... Miami was second with 109 points, followed by Bowling Green (70 points), Akron (67 points), Ohio (66 points) and Buffalo (35 points).
The Golden Flashes were also the favorite to win the 2009 MAC Tournament title, earning 11 votes, followed by Miami (7), Bowling Green (2) and Eastern Michigan (2).
Looking Ahead . . .
The Cardinals hit the road Tuesday night as they make a return trip to Wisconsin-Milwaukee for an 8 p.m. (ET) tip.
####
