Ball State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts Arkansas State Saturday At 2 p.m.
November 28, 2008 | Men's Basketball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State returns home for its third home game of the young season as they welcome Arkansas State into Worthen Arena for non-conference action ... The Cardinals enter today's game with a 3-1 overall record ... Ball State has picked up wins against Eastern Illinois,SIU-Edwardsville and most recently at Wisconsin-Milwaukee while falling to Butler ... The Cardinals are led by second year head coach Billy Taylor .... Arkansas State enters today's game with a 3-1 record on the year ... The Red Wolves have picked up wins over Lyon, Murray State and Tennessee-Martin while falling at Mississippi ... ASU is led by first-year head coach John Brady.
Series History With Arkansas State . . .
Today's game marks the second meeting all-time between Ball State and Arkansas State ... The Cardinals trail the series 0-1 as they dropped a 57-47 decision in Jonesboro last season ... Ball State shot just 37.5 percent (15-of-40) from the field and just 35.3 percent (six-of-17) from three-point land ... Arkansas State connected on 41.5 percent (17-of-41) from the field and 46.2 percent (six-of-13) from long range.
The Cardinals only had two players in double figures in the loss ... Guard Brandon Lampley led BSU in scoring with 13 points, while adding four assists ... Lampley hit three-of-nine from three-point land ... Senior Peyton Stovall added 12 points in the loss ... Arkansas State was led in scoring by Ryan Wedel who scored 13 points on the strength of three-of-four shooting from long range.
Looking Back At Milwaukee . . .
The Cardinals picked up their third win of the season and their second straight with an 82-69 victory at Wisconsin-Milwaukee ... The Ball State offense broke out for a season-high 82 points as it shot 57.7 percent (30-of-52) from the field ... The Cardinals scored 49 points in the second half, which is their most points this season in a half ... The BSU defense held the Panthers to just 37.5 percent shooting (21-of-56) from the field in the victory.
Four different players scored in double figures against Milwaukee and eight different players scored in the victory ... Senior guard Brandon Lampley tied his career-high with 15 points, including 11 in the first half ... Lampley connected on six-of-10 from the field while also grabbing six rebounds and dishing out five assists ... Freshman forward Jarrod Jones scored a game-high 18 points in just 16 minutes due to foul trouble ... Jones connected on seven-of-eight from the field.
Senior forward Anthony Newell posted his third straight double-double as he scored 14 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds ... Senior guard Laron Frazier added 12 points and three assists for the Cardinals.
Offensive Show . . .
The Cardinals' scored a season-high 82 points against Wisconsin-Milwaukee ... The 82 points are the most for the Cardinals in a game since an 82-point effort at Central Michigan last season ... The 49 points in the second half is the most in a half for the Cardinals since they scored 49 points in the first half against Western Michigan March 5, 2005.
The 57.7 percent shooting from the field for Ball State is the highest in a game since the Cardinals shot 60.3 percent against Akron January 4, 2003.
Newell Honored By MAC . . .
Senior forward Anthony Newell was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Co-Player of the Week Monday ... This is the third MAC weekly honor for Newell in his career and the first for the Cardinals this season.
He posted back-to-back double-doubles on the week against Butler and SIU-Edwardsville ... Newell averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds per game on the week ... He scored a game-high 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds at Butler ... He followed with a 15-point, 13-rebound effort in the Cardinals' win against SIUE ... Newell has posted 14 double-doubles on his career ... He is averaging 16.3 points and 10.5 rebounds on the season.
Home Sweet Home . . .
Today's game marks the 241st game for the Cardinals in Worthen Arena (previously University Arena) since its opening January 15, 1992 ... Ball State owns a 177-63 record all-time in Worthen Arena, which is good for .738 winning percentage ... The Cardinals opened the 2008-09 season with their 175th career victory in Worthen Arena as they downed Eastern Illinois 72-59 ... BSU picked up its second home win of the season last Saturday against SIU-Edwardsville ... Ball State has averaged just over 10 wins per season at home since Worthen Arena opened its doors.
Hitting The Glass . . .
The Cardinals lead the Mid-American Conference in rebounding margin at +7.5 ... Ball State has out-rebounded its opponents in all four games this season ... The Cardinals only out-rebounded their opponent 13 times last season ... Ball State last out-rebounded four straight opponents from January 24, 2007 through February 3, 2007 (Akron, Bowling Green, Kent State & Ohio) ... The last time BSU out-rebounded five straight opponents was at the end of the 2004-05 season when the Cardinals closed the year with an advantage against five straight teams.
Senior forward Anthony Newell leads the team and is second in the MAC in rebounding at 10.5 boards per game ... Freshman Jarrod Jones is tied for third in the conference on the glass at 8.8 caroms per contest.
Taylor's Defensive Prowess . . .
The trademark of a Billy Taylor led team begins on the defensive end of the court and that has been no different during his time here at Ball State ... The Cardinals' defense finished last 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 four games of the season, the Cardinals are holding opponents to 61.8 points per game ... The scoring defense is ranked fourth in the MAC so far this season ... The Cardinals have only allowed one opponent to score more than 64 points this season.
Double-Dipping . . .
Freshman forward Jarrod Jones and senior forward Anthony Newell both posted double-doubles in the Cardinals' loss at Butler ... 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 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.
Newell has now recorded three straight double-doubles heading into today's game ... He has accomplished a double-dip against Butler, SIU-Edwardsville and Wisconsin-Miwaukee ... He recorded 14 points and 12 rebounds on Tuesday ...
Newell's has posted 15 double-doubles in his career ... He scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against the Bulldogs ... He tallied 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds against SIUE.
Newell is one of two players in the MAC this season to be averaging a double-double. Ohio's Jerome Tillman is the other MAC athlete averaging a double dip.
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.
The Cardinals have had at least one player with a double-double in all four games this season
Did You Know . . .
The Cardinals picked up their third win of the season Tuesday at Wisconsin-Milwaukee (11/25/08) ... Last season, the Cardinals did not pick up their third win until January 19, 2008 ... Tuesday's victory is also the Cardinals' first on the road this season ... Ball State did not register a road victory until February 13, 2008 at Buffalo.
The Cardinals are two games over .500 for the first time since opening the 2006-07 season with two straight wins.
Cardinals In MAC Stats . . .
Through the first four games of the season, the Cardinals have a couple of players sprinkled throughout the Mid-American Conference individual statistic rankings.
Freshman forward Jarrod Jones enters today's game third in rebounding at 8.8 boards per game ... Jones is also tied for sixth in scoring at 18.0 points and is third in field goal percentage at 65.9 percent.
Senior forward Anthony Newell is tied for 10th in the MAC in scoring at 16.3 points per game ... He is second in the league on the glass at 10.5 caroms per contest ... Senior guard Brandon Lampley is first in the MAC in assists at 5.50 per game ... Lampley is also first in the conference in assist/turnover ratio at 3.67.
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 13-point margin of victory over Eastern Illinois is the largest since a 21-point, 61-40, win over Valparaiso on Dec. 16, 2006.
Ball State also came out of the gate quickly against SIU-Edwardsville as it ran out to a 24-4 lead ... The 20-point lead against SIUE is the largest for the Cardinals this season and the largest since a 24-point lead against Valparaiso December 16, 2006 ... The Cardinals also held SIUE to just 16 first half points ... The 16 first half points is the fewest for an opponent in a half in the Billy Taylor era and the lowest since BSU held Central Michigan to 16 in the second half January 24, 2006 ... It is the lowest first half total for an opponent since a 16-point first half effort by Eastern Michigan March 3, 2004.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters today's game with a 3-1 record on the year ... The Cardinals are coming off of a 82-69 victory at UW-Milwaukee ... BSU has also downed Eastern Illinois and SIU-Edwardsville and has dropped a game at Butler.
The Cardinals are averaging 69.0 points per game while allowing 61.8 points per contest ... Ball State is shooting 46.0 percent (98-of-213) from the field and 34.0 percent (16-of-47) three-point land ... The Cardinals are holding opponents to 39.2 percent (83-of-212) shooting from the field and 35.2 percent (25-of-71) from long range ... Ball State is out-rebounding opponents by a 39.2-31.8 margin.
Freshman forward Jarrod Jones leads the team in scoring and is second in rebounding ... Jones averages 18.0 points and 8.8 rebounds per game ... He is shooting 65.9 percent from the field this season and 69.2 from the free throw line.
Senior forward Anthony Newell is second on the team in scoring (16.3) and leads the team in rebounding (10.5) ... Senior guard Laron Frazier chips in 9.8 points per game ... Senior guard Brandon Lampley adds 9.0 points per game and 5.5 assists per contest.
Scouting The Red Wolves . . .
Arkansas State enters today's game with a 3-1 record on the year ... The Red Wolves opened the season with a 13-point loss at Ole Miss ... ASU has since won three straight games against Lyon, Murray State and Tennessee-Martin.
The Red Wolves are averaging 67.8 points per game and are allowing 56.2 points per game ... Arkansas State is shooting 46.2 percent (92-of-210) from the field and 33.3 percent (16-of-48) from three-point land ... ASU is allowing opponents to shoot 35.7 percent (80-of-224) from the field and 27.4 percent (23-of-84) from long range ... The Red Wolves are out-rebounding their opponents by a 38.5-29.8 margin.
Forward Shawn Morgan leads the team in scoring at 11.3 points per game ... He is shooting 80 percent (16-of-20) from the field ... Donald Boone chips in 10.3 points per game to round out the double figure scorers.
863 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 ... Newell enters today's game with 863 career points ... He is averaging 16.3 points per game during the first four contests of the season ... He has scored in double figures 49 times in his career (49-of-78), including 19 times last year and all four times this season ... He has reached 20-plus points on 10 different occasions in his career.
Top 20 And Climbing . . .
Senior forward Anthony Newell moved into the top 20 all-time rebounders in Ball State history last Saturday ... Newell is the 19th player all-time in Ball State history to reach 500 career boards .... He grabbed 12 rebounds at Wisconsin-Milwaukee to move his career total to 505 caroms ... He moved past former Cardinal John Williams (1979-82) for 19th place ... Ed Butler (1961-64) holds the Ball State career record for caroms with 1,231 boards.
Perry & Davis Debut . . .
Sophomore forward Malik Perry and freshman guard Randy Davis returned from injury and made their first appearance of the 2008-09 season last Saturday afternoon against SIU-Edwardsville ... Perry made his 31st career start and grabbed eight rebounds in the victory ... Davis played 17 minutes in his collegiate debut.
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.
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 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 1067-964-1 record all-time, which is good for a .525 winning percentage ... Ball State is 708-304 all-time at home in Muncie as the Cardinals have won 69.9 percent of games at home.
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 will be back in action on Monday night as they travel up I-69 and face IPFW at 7 p.m.
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