Ball State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Travels To UCSB Monday Night
December 28, 2008 | Men's Basketball
What's On Tap . . .
The Cardinals have been off for the holidays since December 21 ... Ball State returns to action Monday night when it battles UC-Santa Barbara ... The contest will be a 10 p.m. (ET) tip-off at the Thunderdome and will be broadcast on 104.1 WLBC FM ... The Cardinals enter the contest with a 5-5 overall record after picking up a 60-57 victory Sunday against Presbyterian ... The Cardinals are led by second year head coach Billy Taylor.
UC Santa Barbara enters the game with a 5-6 overall record ... The Gauchos have lost two straight games on the road heading into the holiday break with losses at Weber State and at San Diego State ... UCSB is coached by 11th year head coach Bob Williams.
Newell Honored By The MAC . . .
For the third time this season, senior forward Anthony Newell was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week (12/22) ... Newell is the only player in the MAC to garner the award three times this season.
Newell, a team tri-captain, helped the Cardinals end a three-game slide Sunday afternoon as he scored a season-high 20 points in Ball State's 60-57 victory over Presbyterian ... He connected on seven-of-13 (.538) from the field and also grabbed seven rebounds.
Series History With UC Santa Barbara . . .
This year's contest marks the second meeting all-time between Ball State and UC Santa Barbara ... Last season, the Cardinals dropped a 79-52 contest to the Gauchos in Worthen Arena ... The loss was the Cardinals 10th straight to open the season ... UCSB shot 52.9 percent from the field and 70.6 (12-of-17) from long range in that game ... The Cardinals were held to just 37.5 percent shooting from the field and 33.3 percent shooting (six-of-18) from three-point land.
Former Cardinal Peyton Stovall led the team in scoring with 18 points in the loss ... UCSB was paced by Chris Devine's 22 points in 31 minutes ... Devine connected on nine-of-10 from the field ... Former Gaucho Alex Harris came off the bench to add 22 points as well.
Frazier Sidelined . . .
Senior guard Laron Frazier missed his first game of the season against Presbyterian ... Frazier injured his hand during practice prior to the game and will miss 4-6 weeks due to injury ... Freshman guard Randy Davis made his first career start against Presbyterian in Frazier's absence.
Wild & Wacky MAC West . . .
The Cardinals enter Monday's game as the only team in the Mid-American Conference West Division with a .500 record at 5-5 ... The Cardinals, who were picked to finish fifth in the MAC West, lead the division while Northern Illinois, who was picked to finish sixth in the division, are second at 4-8 ... Central Michigan (3-8), Western Michigan (3-9), Eastern Michigan (2-9) and Toledo (2-9) round out the West Division.
Last Time Out . . .
The Cardinals snapped their three-game skid before the holiday break with a 60-57 victory over visiting Presbyterian ... Ball State dominated the glass as the Cardinals held a 40-25 advantage, including a season-high 17 offensive rebounds ... BSU also out-scored the Blue Hose 30-147 in the paint.
Senior forward Anthony Newell scored a season-high 20 points as he was seven-of-13 from the field ... Freshman guard Randy Davis made his first career start and scored a career-high 11 points, 10 in the first half ... Davis also dished out five assists without committing a turnover ... Sophomore forward Malik Perry grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds in the victory.
The Cardinals' defense held Presbyterian's leading scorer, Al'Lonzo Coleman, to just eight points in the victory ... Coleman entered the game averaging 16 points per game and was coming off of a 33-point outing.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters Monday's game with a 5-5 overall record ... The Cardinals snapped a three-game slid with a three-point victory over Presbyterian before the holiday break.
The Cardinals are averaging 60.3 points per game while allowing 62.2 points ... Ball State is shooting 41.4 percent (213-of-514) from the field and 29.9 percent (38-of-127) from three-point land ... Opponents are shooting 42.2 percent (218-of-517) from the field and 36.4 percent (56-of-154) from long range ... The Cardinals own a 36.1-33.8 rebounding advantage on their opponents.
Senior forward Anthony Newell leads the Cardinals at 15.5 points and 9.4 rebounds per game ... Freshman forward Jarrod Jones is second at 10.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game ... Senior guard Brandon Lampley adds 8.8 points per game and leads the team with 39 assists.
Scouting The Gauchos . . .
UC Santa Barbara enters Monday's game with a 5-6 overall record ... The Gauchos have dropped two straight games heading into the contest ... The Gauchos will be playing only their second game at home in the month of December.
UCSB is averaging 64.2 points per game while allowing 64.7 points ... The Gauchos are shooting 45.1 percent (260-of-577) from the field and 32.8 percent (59-of-180) from three-point land ... Opponents are shooting 45.2 percent (255-of-564) from the field and 34.5 percent (71-of-206) from long range ... UCSB is out-rebounding its opponents by a 33.5-31.3 margin.
Forward Chris Devine leads the Gauchos in scoring at 13.8 points per game ... Guard James Powell is second in scoring at 10.9 points per game ... Leading rebounder Jesse Byrd (7.6 boards per game) will miss Monday's game and will be out six weeks due to injury.
Leaving The Hoosier State . . .
The Cardinals have played nine out of their first 11 non-conference games in the state of Indiana and will play 10 of their 12 non-conference games this season in the Hoosier State .... Monday's game at UC-Santa Barbara marks just the second road trip this season outside of the state of Indiana ... In total, 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 already 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 Monday's contest at UC-Santa Barbara.
Monday's game also marks the Cardinals' first trip to the state of California since the 2006-07 season ... That year, Ball State travelled to San Diego for the San Diego Slam.
953 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 today's game with 953 career points ... He is averaging 15.5 points per game during the first 10 contests of the season ... He has scored in double figures 55 times in his career (55-of-84), including 19 times last year and all 10 times this season ... He has reached 20-plus points on 11 different occasions in his career, including a 20-point effort against Presbyterian.
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 seven rebounds against Presbyterian to move his career total to 557 caroms ... He moved up one spot on the career rebounding list to 13th place all-time as he past former Paris McCurdy (1988-90) ... He past former Cardinals Shafer Suggs (1972-75), Jeermal Sylvester (1990-94) and Chandler Thompson (1989-92) earlier in the week ... 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. Anthony Newell - 557
14. Paris McCurdy - 547
15. Chandler Thompson - 534
Did You Know . . .
The Cardinals picked up their fifth win of the season last week against Presbyterian ... Last season, the Cardinals did not pick up their fifth win until February 17, 2008 vs. Toledo ... The Cardinals are at the .500 mark 10 games into the season for the first time since the 2004-05 season with BSU started 6-4.
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.
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 10 games of the season, the Cardinals are holding opponents to 62.2 points per game ... The scoring defense is ranked fourth in the MAC ... The Cardinals have only allowed two opponents to score more than 70 points this season.
Home Sweet Home . . .
The Presbyterian game marked the 244th game for the Cardinals in Worthen Arena (previously University Arena) since its opening January 15, 1992 ... Ball State owns a 178-66 record all-time in Worthen Arena, which is good for .730 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 against SIU-Edwardsville and its third against Presbyterian ... 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.
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 10 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 Monday's game eighth in the MAC in scoring at 15.5 points per game ... He leads the league on the glass at 9.4 rebounds per game ... He also leads the MAC in defensive rebound at 6.90 ... He is seventh in the MAC in minutes per game at 33.0.
Freshman forward Jarrod Jones enters the game seventh in rebounding at 6.2 boards per game ... Jones is 26th in scoring at 10.5 points and is third in field goal percentage at 52.6percent ... Jones is fourth in blocked shots at 1.10 rejections per game.
Senior guard Brandon Lampley enters the game second in the MAC in assist/turnover ratio at 1.77 ... He is fourth in the MAC in assists at 3.90 per game and is tied for 10th in free throw percentage (.742) ... Senior guard Laron Frazier is 13th in shooting from three-point land (.391).
Hitting The Glass . . .
The Cardinals enter Monday's game ranked tied fourth in the Mid-American Conference in rebounding margin at +2.3 ... Ball State has out-rebounded its opponents six out of the first 10 games this season ... BSU is third in the MAC on the defensive glass as it averages 25.20 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).
Last time out, the Cardinals held a 15-rebound advantage against Presbyterian (40-25) and grabbed a season-high 17 offensive rebounds.
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 Earns Weekly Honor . . .
Senior forward Anthony Newell was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week for the second time this season on December 8 ... 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.
Newell Honored By MAC II . . .
Senior forward Anthony Newell was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Co-Player of the Week (11/24) ... This was 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 1070-967-1 record all-time, which is good for a .525 winning percentage ... Ball State is 709-304 all-time at home in Muncie as the Cardinals have won 70.0 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 the non-conference season January 3 when they host Saint Joseph's at Worthen Arena.
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