EVANSVILLE, Ind. ? The Ball State men's basketball team suffered a 73-63 loss to Evansville Saturday night at Roberts Stadium in non-conference action. The Cardinals fall to 4-3 on the season while the Purple Aces improve to 5-1 on the season.
“We didn't do a good job of adhering to the game plan tonight,” head coach Billy Taylor said. “We fell behind in the first half and were fighting back the rest of the game. We were better in the second half with our execution but we were unable to get enough defensive stops.”
Senior forward Anthony Newell (Chicago, Ill./Simeon) was one of four Cardinals in double figures scoring in the loss. Newell posted his fifth double-double in seven games this season as he scored a team-high 15 points while grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds. He helped the Cardinals battle to a 35-28 rebounding advantage against an Evansville team that came into the night averaging 10 more boards per game than its opponent.
Evansville opened the game quickly as it jumped out to a 7-1 lead just 1:30 into the game. The Cardinals weathered the early storm and answered with a 7-2 run to pull within one at 9-8. Senior guard Laron Frazier (Waukegan, Ill/Highland CC) sparked the early going with five straight points including a three-pointer to cap the spurt.
The Purple Aces continued their hot shooting as they posted a 12-4 run to take a 21-12 lead to force a BSU timeout. The Cardinals came out of the timeout and scored five straight points as senior guard Rob Giles (Detroit, Mich./Mott) hit a three-pointer in the corner. The Cardinals' run was short lived as Evansville ran off a 13-2 run to take a 34-21 lead with just over four minutes remaining in the half.
The two teams traded baskets down the stretch to end the first half with Evansville taking a 41-26 lead into the locker room. Ball State was held to just 36.4 percent (eight-of-22) shooting from the field in the first half and the Cardinals committed 11 turnovers in the opening frame. The Purple Aces closed the first half shooting 55.6 percent (15-of-27) from the field, including 60 percent (three-of-five) from three-point land.
Newell led the Cardinals in the first half as he scored seven points and grabbed a half-high six rebounds. Frazier added five points as the Cardinals were hampered by foul trouble as five players picked up two first half fouls each. Evansville was led in scoring by guard Jason Holsinger who scored 13 points in the first half, including 11 in the first eight minutes of the game.
After four straight Evansville points to start the second half, Newel scored on back-to-back tip-ins as the Cardinals battled for the momentum. Ball State made a run midway through the second half as it posted a 9-2 spurt to pull within 11 points at 54-43. Senior guard Brandon Lampley (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton) started the run with five quick points while freshman forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) capped the stretch with a strong play on the inside.
Evansville did not falter though as the Purple Aces found big baskets and hit their free throw in the second half to keep the lead in double figures. The Cardinals fought to make a run but were unable to get over the hump and narrow the lead back to single digits despite out-scoring Evansville by a 37-32 margin in the second half.
Ball State finished the game shooting 47.1 percent (24-of-51) from the field on the strength of 55.2 percent (16-of-29) shooting in the second half. The Cardinals hit just 23.1 percent (three-of-13) from three-point land and only converted 60 percent (12-of-20) from the free throw line.
Evansville ended the night shooting 50 percent (24-of-48) from the field despite being held to just nine field goals in the second half. The Purple Aces were strong from the free throw line as they hit 75.9 percent (22-of-29), including 14 made free throws in the second half.
Sophomore forward Malik Perry (Philadelphia, Pa./Philadelphia Lutheran) had his best game of the season as he finished with a season-high 10 points on a perfect five-of-five shooting from the field. Lampley added 11 points, all in the second half while Jones chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
Evansville was led by Holsinger who scored a game-high 18 points as he was five-of-10 from the field and hit three three-pointers. Nate Garner and Shy Ely each chipped in 12 points in the Evansville victory.
The Cardinals head home to begin a three-game home stand beginning Tuesday night as they host the ninth ranked Purdue Boilermakers at Worthen Arena at 7 p.m.
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