Ball State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts Eastern Kentucky Saturday
December 11, 2008 | Men's Basketball
What's On Tap . . .
The Cardinals look two snap their two-game skid Saturday afternoon as they host Eastern Kentucky in non-conference action ... The game will be the first game of the season televised by the Ball State Sports Network ... Wil Hampton provides the play-by-play while Jerry Peirson handles the color commentary duties ... Today's game marks the Cardinals' fifth home game of the season and is the second of three straight home games .... Ball State enters today's game with a 4-4 overall record ... The Cardinals are led by second-year head coach Billy Taylor (10-28/91-97) ... Eastern Kentucky enters today's game with a 6-3 overall record and a 1-1 mark in Ohio Valley Conference action ... The Colonels have won two straight games and five of their last six contests ... EKU is led by fourth-year head coach Jeff Neubaur (55-47).
Series History With Eastern Kentucky . . .
Saturday's game marks the sixth meeting all-time between Ball State and Eastern Kentucky ... The Colonels have won all five of the previous meetings between the two teams ... The two teams first met in the 1967-68 season when EKU claimed a 95-66 victory in Muncie ... The Colonels have not visited Muncie since December 15, 1979 when they defeated Ball State by a 94-88 margin ... Last season, Ball State dropped 51-48 decision last season at EKU as part of the ESPNU Bracketbusters.
The Cardinals trailed by five at the half and made a second half run to pull ahead by two with 5:42 left in the game but could not hold the lead ... Ball State shot 39.6 (19-of-48) from the field and 53.8 percent (seven-of-13) from long range in the loss ... Senior guard Peyton Stovall led all scorers with 22 points as he was nine-of-13 from the field while also grabbing nine rebounds ... Forward Anthony Newell added six points and a game-high 11 rebounds as the Cardinals won the battle on the glass, 37-20 ... Eastern Kentucky shot 43.2 percent (19-of-44) from the field and 38.9 percent (seven-of-18) from long range ... The Colonels only committed seven turnovers compared to the Cardinals' 16 miscues ... Mike Rose led all EKU players in scoring with 17 points while Josh Taylor chipped in 13 points in the victory.
Looking Back At Purdue . . .
The Cardinals dropped their second straight game as they fell 68-39 to #14/17 Purdue Tuesday night at Worthen Arena ... Tuesday's game drew a season-high crowd of 8,381 for the contest ... The crowd is the 21st largest crowd to watch a men's basketball game in Muncie and the largest since December 31, 2005 (11,500 vs. Indiana).
Ball State was held to just 26.4 percent (14-of-53) shooting in the loss while Purdue connected on 45.9 percent (28-of-61) ... The Cardinals also committed 21 turnovers and hit just 47.1 percent (eight-of-17) from the free throw line.
Senior forward Anthony Newell was the only Cardinal in double figures scoring as he tallied 11 points ... He fell just short of a double-double with a team-high eight rebounds ... Senior guard Laron Frazier added seven points while freshman forward Mo Hubbard scored a career-high six points off of the bench.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters Saturday's game with a 4-4 overall record ... The Cardinals have dropped two straight games after opening the season 4-2 ... BSU is averaging 60.6 points per game and allowing 61.8 points per game ... The Cardinals are shooting 41.0 percent (169-of-412) from the field and 30.5 percent (29-of-95) from three-point land ... Opponents are shooting 41.5 percent (176-of-424) from the field and 34.2 percent (38-of-111) from long range ... The Cardinals are out-rebounding their opponents by a 36.2-34.4 margin.
Senior forward Anthony Newell leads the team in scoring at 14.8 points per game and in rebounding at 10.1 boards per contest ... Freshman forward Jarrod Jones is second on the team in both categories at 11.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.
Senior guard Laron Frazier is third on the team in scoring at 8.9 points ... Classmate Brandon Lampley adds 8.6 points per game and leads the team with 30 assists.
Scouting The Colonels . . .
Eastern Kentucky enters Saturday's game with a 6-3 overall record and a 1-1 mark in Ohio Valley Conference action ... The Colonels have won two straight games and five out of their last six contests ... EKU has already picked up one victory against a Mid-American Conference foe with a 69-57 victory over Akron at the 2008 Legends Classic.
Eastern Kentucky is averaging 74.6 points per game and allowing 58.8 points ... The Colonels are shooting 48.9 percent (248-of-507) from the field and 40.1 percent (93-of-232) from three-point land ... EKU is averaging 10.3 three-pointers per game and have made more three-pointers than free throws so far this year ... Opponents are shooting 42.1 percent (196-of-466) from the field and 34.1 percent (57-of-167) from long range ... EKU is being out-rebounded by a 32.4-32.0 margin each game.
Guard Mike Rose leads the team in scoring at 20.0 points per game ... Rose is coming off of a 33-point performance against Covenant College as he hit six three-pointers ... Guard Papa Oppong is second on the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game.
Newell Earns Weekly Honor . . .
Senior forward Anthony Newell has been named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday ... This is Newell's second weekly honor of the season as he also picked up the honor November 24 ... He is the first player to earn multiple awards from the West Division this season and the second player from the MAC to be tabbed twice (Michael Bramos, Miami).
Newell posted back-to-back double-doubles last week as he averaged 13.0 points and 12.5 rebounds per game ... He recorded a double-double in the Cardinals' victory at IPFW as he grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds and scored 11 points including the game-winning shot as time expired to send the Cardinals to victory ... He followed that up with a 15-point, 12-rebound effort at Evansville ... He has posted five double-doubles this season through the first seven games ... He is averaging 15.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game this season and is the only player in the MAC averaging a double-double on the year.
Did You Know . . .
The Cardinals picked up their fourth win of the season at IPFW (12/1/08) ... Last season, the Cardinals did not pick up their fourth win until February 13, 2008 at Buffalo ... The Cardinals are two games over .500 for the second time this season ... Ball State opened the season with a 4-2 record through the first six games for the first time since the 2005-06 season.
Ball State's victory at Wisconsin-Milwaukee (11/25/08) was its first on the road this season ... Ball State did not register a road victory until February 13, 2008 at Buffalo ... The Cardinals picked up their second road win Monday at IPFW ... Last season, BSU only recorded one road win all season and the Cardinals only picked up two road wins the entire 2006-07 season ... The back-to-back road wins for the Cardinals marks the first time Ball State has won consecutive road games since the 2003-04 season ... That year, the Cardinals picked up wins at Marshall and Bowling Green.
916 and Counting . . .
Senior forward Anthony Newell is within reach of becoming the 25th player in Ball State history to reach the 1,000-Point Club this season ... Newell enters Saturday's game with 916 career points ... He is averaging 14.8 points per game during the first eight contests of the season ... He has scored in double figures 53 times in his career (53-of-82), including 19 times last year and all eight 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 earlier this season ... Newell is the 19th player all-time in Ball State history to reach 500 career boards .... He grabbed eight rebounds against Purdue to move his career total to 544 caroms ... He moved up three spots on the career rebounding list to 14th place all-time after his 12-rebound effort at Evansville ... He past former Cardinals Shafer Suggs (1972-75), Jeermal Sylvester (1990-94) and Chandler Thompson (1989-92) ... Ed Butler (1961-64) holds the Ball State career record for caroms with 1,231 boards.
11. Bill Gillis - 606
12. Chris Collins - 577
13. Paris McCurdy - 547
14. Anthony Newell - 544
15. Chandler Thompson - 534
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 eight games of the season, the Cardinals are holding opponents to 60.6 points per game ... The scoring defense is ranked third in the MAC ... The Cardinals have only allowed three opponents to score more than 64 points this season.
Home Sweet Home . . .
Saturday's game marks the 243rd game for the Cardinals in Worthen Arena (previously University Arena) since its opening January 15, 1992 ... Ball State owns a 177-65 record all-time in Worthen Arena, which is good for .731 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.
Double-Dipping . . .
The Cardinals have had seven double-doubles so far this season with senior forward Anthony Newell recording five and freshman forward Jarrod Jones adding two double-dips ... Newell has posted double-doubles against Butler, SIU-Edwardsville, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, IPFW and Evansville ... Jones has accomplished the feat against Eastern Illinois and Butler.
Newell had a streak of three straight double-doubles earlier this season (Butler, SIUE, UWM) ... 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 ... He is one of two players in the Mid-American Conference averaging a double-double on the season (Jerome Tillman - Ohio).
Newell and Jones 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 also 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.
Cardinals In MAC Stats . . .
Through the first eight games of the season, the Cardinals have a couple of players sprinkled throughout the Mid-American Conference individual statistic rankings.
Senior forward Anthony Newell enters Saturday's game 11th in the MAC in scoring at 14.8 points per game ... He is second in the league on the glass at 10.1 rebounds per game ... He is one of two players in the MAC that are averaging a double-double on the year ... He also leads the MAC in defensive rebound at 7.50.
Freshman forward Jarrod Jones enters Saturday's game tied for fifth in rebounding at 6.9 boards per game ... Jones is tied for 23rd in scoring at 11.4 points and is fourth in field goal percentage at 54.0 percent ... Jones is fifth in blocked shots at 1.25 rejections per game.
Senior guard Brandon Lampley enters the game second in the MAC in assist/turnover ratio at 1.88 ... He is tied for fourth in the MAC in assists at 3.75 per game and is tied for eighth in free throw percentage (.800) ... Senior guard Laron Frazier 11th from three-point land (.421).
Hitting The Glass . . .
The Cardinals enter the game ranked tied third in the Mid-American Conference in rebounding margin at +1.9 ... Ball State has out-rebounded its opponents five out of the first eight games this season ... BSU is third in the MAC on the defensive glass as it averages 26.38 defensive boards per game ... The Cardinals only out-rebounded their opponent 13 times last season ... Prior to the first four games of this season, the last time Ball State out-rebounded four straight opponents was from January 24, 2007 through February 3, 2007 (Akron, Bowling Green, Kent State & Ohio).
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.
Staying In The Hoosier State . . .
The Cardinals play 10 of their 12 non-conference games this season in the state of Indiana ... Ball State has just five road non-conference games with three of them staying instate ... The Cardinals have already travelled to Butler, IPFW and Evansville ... The Cardinals just concluded their longest road trip of the season with back-to-back road games at IPFW and Evansville ... Ball State only has one flight trip this non-conference season with its Dec. 29 contest at UC-Santa Barbara.
Newell Honored By MAC . . .
Senior forward Anthony Newell was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Co-Player of the Week (11/24) ... 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.
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.
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 sdegrees 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 1069-967-1 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 wrap up their three game home stretch Sunday, December 21 when they host Presbyterian at 1 p.m.
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