MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State men's basketball team used a dominating rebounding performance Sunday afternoon on its way to a 60-57 victory over visiting Presbyterian at Worthen Arena in non-conference action. The victory improves the Cardinals to 5-5 on the season while Presbyterian falls to 5-6 overall.
“I am really proud of our guys for finding a way to win today,” head coach Billy Taylor said. “We had a lot of guys step up today and fill roles that we needed. Randy did a great job of stepping into the starting lineup and we really played great team basketball throughout our lineup.”
The Cardinals out-rebounded the Blue Hose by a 40-25 margin in the victory, including a season-high 17 offensive rebounds. Ball State dominated the paint as it out-scored Presbyterian 30-14 down low. The Cardinals' defense also recorded five steals and posted a 10-0 advantage in fast break points in the victory.
Senior forward Anthony Newell (Chicago, Ill./Simeon) paced the Cardinals' attack as he scored a season-high 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Newell was seven-fo-13 shooting from the field, while dishing out two assists and recording a steal.
Freshman guard Randy Davis (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth) made his first career start in the place of injured guard Laron Frazier (Waukegan, Ill./Highland CC). Davis scored a career-high 11 points, 10 of which came in the first half. He connected on four-of-nine from the field, including two three-pointers and also dished out a game-high five assists while not committing a turnover in a career-high 35 minutes.
Ball State, which returned from to the court for the first time in over a week because of final exams, got off to a quick start as the Cardinals scored the first six points of the game and jumped out to a 14-4 lead. Newell scored the first four points of the game and Davis capped the early run with a pair of baskets. BSU was aggressive from the start as the Cardinals got Presbyterian's leading scorer, Al'Lonzo Coleman, in early foul trouble with two fouls in the first two minutes.
The Blue Hose responded to the early BSU run as they ran off 12 straight points to take a 16-14 lead just 8:42 remaining in the half. After a Davis three-pointer and a PC basket, Ball State ran off a 9-2 spurt to take the lead back for good at 26-20. Newell sparked the run with an old-fashioned three-point play while senior guard Brandon Lampley (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton) nailed a three-pointer during the stretch.
The teams traded baskets down the stretch as Newell scored the final five points for the Cardinals as they went into the locker room with a 36-28 lead. Ball State connected on 48.1 percent (13-of-27) from the field and 60 percent (three-of-five) from long range in the first half. Presbyterian connected on 45 percent (nine-of-20) from the field and 37.5 percent (three-of-eight) from three-point land in the opening frame.
Presbyterian opened the second half on an 8-2 run to pull within two at 38-36 just four minutes into the half. The Cardinals answered with a 9-3 run to take a 47-39 at the 11:42 mark. Once again, Newell led the charge with five points during the stretch and sophomore forward Malik Perry (Philadelphia, Pa./Philadelphia Lutheran) capped the run with a basket in transition.
The Blue Hose narrowed the Cardinals' lead back to two points with an 8-2 run but the Cardinals again answered with nine straight points to take their largest lead of the day at 58-47. Senior guard Rob Giles (Detroit, Mich./Mott) ignited the run with a three-pointer and Newell ended the run with an emphatic dunk in transition.
Presbyterian did not back down though as it scored eight straight points to pull within three at 58-55 with 3:55 remaining. The Cardinals worked the clock with three straight offensive rebounds. Lampley hit one of two free throws to give BSU a four-point lead with 31.5 seconds remaining. After two free throws by the Blue Hose and a Cardinals' turnover, the Ball State defense stepped forward and came up with a huge defensive stand to force PC into a turnover with 6.1 seconds left. Davis nailed one of two from the line to give the Cardinals a three-point lead and Presbyterian's last second three-pointer was well off the mark to give the Cardinals the victory.
Ball State finished the game shooting 44 percent (22-of-50) from the field and 33.3 percent (four-of-12) from three-point land. The Cardinals continued their struggles from the free throw line as they hit just 54.5 percent (12-of-22) from the charity stripe. The Blue Hose finished the night shooting 44.2 percent (19-of-43) from the field and 40 percent (eight-of-20) from long range. Presbyterian was also off from the line as it hit just 55 percent (11-of-20).
Freshman forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) was the third Cardinal in double figures scoring as he added 10 points and six rebounds in just 17 minutes of action. Lampley chipped in eight points, six rebounds and four assists in the victory. Perry led the team on the glass with a season-high 12 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end.
The Cardinals finished the game holding Coleman to just eight points before he fouled out of the game after just 20 minutes. Coleman entered the game averaging 16.9 points and was coming off of a 29-point effort in his last outing. Presbyterian was led in scoring by Josh Johnson as he scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Pierre Miller chipped in 12 points as the Blue Hose only had two players in double figures scoring.
The victory is the Cardinals' fifth of the season and moved them back to the .500 mark. Ball State did not gain its fifth win last season until February 17 (vs. Toledo) and the Cardinals only recorded six wins all of last season. This is also the first time the Cardinals have been at or above the .500 mark 10 games into the season since the 2004-05 season (6-4).
Ball State will be off for the holidays and won't return to action until Monday, December 29 when the Cardinals travel to UC-Santa Barbara. Game time is set for 10 p.m. (ET) in Santa Barbara, Calif.
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