MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State men's basketball team moved into a tie for the top spot in the Mid-American Conference West Division Tuesday night as the Cardinals knocked off previously unbeaten Western Michigan 50-44 at Worthen Arena. The victory improves the Cardinals to 8-8 on the season and 3-1 in MAC play, while the Broncos fall to 6-11 overall and 3-1 in conference action.
“First off, I'm really thrilled for our guys with this victory against Western Michigan tonight, who I think is one of the elite programs in the MAC,” head coach Billy Taylor said. “I'm really proud of our guys coming out and sticking to the game plan which was to play tough hard nosed basketball.”
Ball State turned in a strong team defensive effort in the victory as the Cardinals held Western Michigan to a season-low 44 points. The Cardinals also held Western Michigan to a season-low 27.5 percent (14-of-51) shooting in the victory. The 44 points allowed by the Cardinals is their second best defensive effort of the season as BSU held Eastern Michigan to just 42 points earlier in MAC play.
Senior guards Brandon Lampley (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton) and Laron Frazier (Waukegan, Ill./Highland CC) led the Cardinals to victory as they combined to score 26 points on the night. Lampley paced the attack with a game-high 16 points as he was seven-of-eight from the field, including a perfect two-of-two from three-point land. Frazier added 10 points on four-of-nine shooting and also grabbed a career-high seven rebounds.
Western Michigan came out of the gate shooting from long range as the Broncos scored their first 12 points from three-point land to take a 12-8 lead just under eight minutes into the game. The Cardinals weathered the opening barrage and pulled within two at 16-14 as freshman guard Pierre Sneed (Chicago, Ill./Simeon) scored four straight points.
The Cardinals fell into a scoring slump in the first half as they went without a field goal for over seven minutes of the half but their defense kept Western Michigan within striking distance. Ball State closed the half with five straight points in the final 1:30 as Lampley nailed a three-pointer and Frazier scored on a drive to send BSU into the locker room trailing by one, 20-19.
Ball State only connected on 25.9 percent (seven-of-27) from the field in the first half and just 20 percent (one-of-five) from three-point land. Lampley led the charge with seven first half points. Western Michigan didn't fare much better in the first half as it hit only 27.6 percent (eight-of-29) from the field and 36.4 percent (four-of-11) from long range as WMU missed it final five three-pointers of the half.
Ball State came out of the halftime break and quickly took the lead as freshman forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) and sophomore forward Malik Perry (Philadelphia, Pa./Philadelphia Lutheran) scored on back-to-back possession to put BSU ahead 23-20.
After the two teams traded baskets, Western Michigan posted a 7-2 run to take a 32-29 lead with 11:32 remaining in the game. The Cardinals clamped down on defense and started to fire on all cylinders on offense as they answered with a 16-5 run to take a 45-37 lead with three minutes remaining in the game.
The Cardinals' run was led by a pair of three-pointers from Frazier, including a pivotal three-pointer as the shot clock was winding down that gave Ball State a 39-35 lead. The Cardinals also received a boost in the run from Lampley as he scored five points, including his second three-pointer of the night.
Western Michigan kept battling though as it nailed a three-pointer to narrow the BSU lead to five points. After Ball State miss, the Cardinals came up with crucial rebound off of a WMU missed three-pointer as senior Rob Giles (Detroit, Mich./Mott CC) was able to sky above and grab the loose ball.
The Cardinals needed a basket on the ensuing possession and Lampley came through once again as he scored off of a drive down the lane to make it a three possession game at 47-40. The Broncos were able to pull within three at 47-44 but Ball State nailed three out of its last four free throws to seal the victory.
Ball State finished the game shooting 34.6 percent (18-of-52) from the field and 36.4 percent (four-of-11) from long range. The Cardinals limited Western Michigan to just 27.5 percent (14-of-51) shooting from the field and only 27.3 percent (six-of-22) from long range. The Broncos finished the game shooting two-of-17 from long range after the opening eight minutes.
Ball State was strong on the glass as well as it out-rebounded the Broncos by a 43-39 margin. Perry led the attack on the glass as he grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds while also scoring eight points. Jones was also strong on the boards as he grabbed 11 rebounds, nine of which came on the defensive end. He also tallied six points and blocked two shots in 29 minutes of action.
Western Michigan was led by forward Derek Drews who scored a game-high 17 points on six-of-17 shooting from the field. The Cardinals were able to hold WMU's leading scorer, David Kool, six points under his season average as he finished with 11 points on four-of-10 shooting.
The victory for the Cardinals snapped a six-game losing streak against Western Michigan as it is their first win over WMU since March 5, 2005. The win is also raises the Cardinals' MAC record to 3-1 on the season marking Ball State's best conference start since the 2003-04 season when it opened the year 5-1.
Ball State will return to action Sunday afternoon as the Cardinals host Toledo at 2 p.m. at Worthen Arena. The game will be televised by the Ball State Sports Network and will be picked up on ESPN Full Court.
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