Ball State University
SIU-Edwardsville
Men's Basketball Downs SIU Edwardsville, 57-47
November 21, 2009 | Men's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State men's basketball team picked up its second victory of the season as the Cardinals downed SIU Edwardsville 57-47 Saturday afternoon at Worthen Arena in non-conference play. Sophomore forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) led the Cardinals to victory as he scored a game-high 19 points.
"Today was a good experience for our guys," head coach Billy Taylor said. "We played a lot of minutes against a zone defense, which will help us as the season goes along. We have played two different types of games so this year and that experience will only help us later in the year. Our first game was faster tempo and today's game was slower and more deliberate. Our guys are learning how to play in different situations early in the season."
Jones, a preseason All-Mid-American Conference selection, led the Cardinals in scoring as he was seven-of-10 shooting from the field while scoring 19 points for the second straight game. He also came just shy of a double-double was he grabbed eight rebounds as Ball State out-rebounded SIUE 40-32, including 17 offensive rebounds.
Ball State came out of the gate quickly against the SIU Edwardsville zone as it scored the first seven points of the game to force a SIUE timeout. Senior forward Terrence Watson (Detroit, Mich./Univ. of Mississippi) scored the Cardinals' first five points of the game, including the opening basket on an alley-oop pass from sophomore guard Randy Davis (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth). The run was capped by a thunderous dunk in transition from Jones to force the early timeout.
SIU Edwardsville (0-4) regrouped and started to chip away at the Cardinals' lead. The Cougars ran off a 10-3 run to take their first lead of the afternoon at 20-19 as reserve guard David Boarden came off the bench to score 11 first half points, including three three-pointers.
The teams traded points down the stretch to head into the locker room with a 24-24 score. Ball State connected on 30 percent (nine-of-30) from the field and just 20 percent (two-of-10) from three-point land in the opening frame. SIU Edwardsville connected on 37.5 percent (nine-of-24) in the first half and hit four three-pointers.
The Cardinals came out to open the second half and turned in an 8-2 run to take a 32-28 lead and force SIUE into another timeout. Jones was the catalyst in the spurt as he scored six straight points while sophomore guard Pierre Sneed (Chicago, Ill./Simeon) nailed a jumper from the corner to extend the lead back to four points.
SIUE narrowed the gap back to one at 34-33 before the Cardinals scored eight straight points to take a 42-33 lead. Ball State started the run as Davis nailed a three-pointer as the shot clock expired and senior guard Brawley Chisholm (Bronx, N.Y./Western Texas College) capped the stretch with a three-pointer from the corner.
The teams went back and forth down the stretch trading baskets before the Cardinals' defense clamped down to hold the Cougars to just 23 second half points. Freshman guard Jauwan Scaife (Muncie, Ind./Central) and Sneed secured the victory for the Cardinals as they hit seven-of-eight from the charity stripe in the final minute.
Ball State finished the game shooting 33.3 percent (17-of-51) from the field and 25 percent (four-of-16) from three-point land. The Cardinals once again got plenty of chances from the free throw line as they hit 63.3 percent (19-of-30) from the charity stripe. SIU Edwardsville finished the game shooting 38.3 percent (18-of-47) from the field and 35.3 percent (six-of-17) from long range.
Scaife finished the afternoon with 12 points in his second career game as he was nine-of-10 from the free throw line. Watson added eight points and eight rebounds for the Cardinals, including six offensive rebounds. Sophomore forward Malik Perry (Philadelphia, Pa./Philadelphia Lutheran) added seven rebounds, six offensive, as the Cardinals dominated play on the glass.
SIUE was paced by Boarden who finished with 14 points, only three in the second half. Mark Yelovich added nine points and 11 rebounds but was held to just three-of-14 shooting from the field.
Ball State hits the road for the first time this season Tuesday night as the Cardinals travel to Atlantic 10 power Temple for a 7:30 p.m. contest.
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