MILWAUKEE, Wis. ? The Ball State men's basketball team moved to 3-1 on the young season after posting an 82-69 victory over Wisconsin-Milwaukee Tuesday night at U.S. Cellular Arena in downtown Milwaukee. Four Cardinals scored in double figures as Ball State shot a season-high 57.7 percent (30-of-52) from the field in the victory.
“I am really proud of the way our guys came out and played tonight against a very tough Milwaukee team,” head coach Billy Taylor said. “Tonight was a team effort as we worked together on both ends of the court. We had a lot of people step up and score for us as it wasn't just inside play but our guards scoring for us as well. It was good to see our team grow and continue to get better.”
Senior guard Brandon Lampley (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton) tied his career-high in points as he poured in 15 points, 11 of which came in the first half. Lampley also grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists without committing a turnover. Senior forward Anthony Newell (Chicago, Ill./Simeon) posted his third straight double-double as he scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
Freshman forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) continued his strong start to his career as he scored 18 points in just 16 minutes of action because of foul trouble. Jones connected on seven-of-eight from the field in the victory and has now scored at least 14 points in all four games to open his career. Senior guard Laron Frazier (Waukegan, Ill./Highland CC) added 12 points and three assists to round out the double figure scorers.
“Jarrod is playing great for us but tonight was really a team effort for us,” Taylor said. “We had four guys in double figures and I love to see that kind of balance. We had a high number of assists as we were moving and sharing the ball well. We really played together as a team tonight.”
Wisconsin-Milwaukee (3-3) started the game strong as the Panthers took an early 13-7 lead thanks to seven unanswered points just five minutes into the game. The Cardinals responded to the early adversity and rolled off eight straight points to take a 15-13 lead. The run was sparked on the defensive end as freshman forward Maurice Hubbard (Chantilly, Va./Westfield) stole the inbound pass and found classmate Randy Davis (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth) streaking to the basket. Davis made the contested basket to give the Cardinals the momentum.
The two teams traded baskets back-and-forth until the Panthers posted a 10-3 run to take a 28-23 lead with 4:29 remaining in the first half. The Cardinals answered as they turned up the pressure on both ends of the court as they closed the half on a 10-0 run to take a 33-28 lead into the locker room.
The Ball State defense held the Panthers without a field goal for the final 9:10 of the half as the Cardinals forced UWM to miss 11 straight shots. On the offensive end, seniors Newell and Lampley started to impose their will. Newell started the run with a dunk and added a jumper to give the Cardinals back the lead. Lampley closed the half with back-to-back baskets as he scored 11 points in the opening frame.
The Cardinals turned in a strong shooting half as they connected on 51.7 percent (15-of-29) from the field. Ball State also controlled the glass as it out-rebounded UWM by a 22-11 margin. Jones scored 10 points in just 10 minutes of action after picking up two early fouls.
Wisconsin-Milwaukee cooled after its fast start to finish the half shooting 35.7 percent (10-of-28) from the field and just 28.6 percent (two-of-seven) from three-point land. Forward Anthony Hill led the Panthers in scoring in the first half with 12 points as he hit his first four shots from the field.
Ball State came out of the halftime and extended its lead to 43-34 just four minutes in to force a UWM timeout. Frazier paced the early going in the second half as he scored five points in the first four minutes, including a three-pointer from the corner.
The Panthers kept within striking distance for much of the second half until the Cardinals posted a 7-1 run to force another UWM timeout with BSU leading 56-46. Sophomore forward Malik Perry (Philadelphia, Pa./Philadelphia Lutheran) keyed the spurt with five straight points, while Newell capped the run with a thunderous dunk.
After UWM pulled back within four points at 61-57, the Cardinals scored seven straight points to move the lead back to double figures. Jones was the catalyst in the run as he scored five points, including an old-fashioned three-point play. Ball State sealed the victory down the stretch with an 11-2 lead, including seven straight points to begin the run. Newell slammed the door shut on the victory as he knocked down a three-pointer in transition to put Ball State ahead by 13 points.
The Cardinals finished the game shooting 57.7 percent (30-of-52) from the field, including 65.2 percent (15-of-23) in the second half. Ball State hit 50 percent (four-of-eight) from three-point land and was 18-of-24 (75%) from the free throw line. The Cardinals out-rebounded the Panthers by a 38-26 margin, marking the fourth time this season that BSU as won the rebounding battle.
Perry finished the game with seven points in 19 minutes of action as he was three-of-three from the field. Davis added six points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals in his second career game. Junior forward Eric Wormely (Joliet, Ill./Kishwaukee CC) added six points and four rebounds off of the bench.
Wisconsin-Milwaukee was held to just 37.5 percent (21-of-56) shooting from the field and just 29.4 percent (five-of-17) from long range by the Cardinals' defense. Milwaukee was led in scoring by Anthony Hill who scored a career-high 17 points. Guard Ricky Franklin added 15 points as he was eight-of-eight from the free throw line.
The Cardinals return home to Worthen Arena Saturday afternoon as they host Arkansas State at 2 p.m. in non-conference action.
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