Ball State University
4-5
North Carolina Central
2-10
Post Play Leads Men's Basketball To Victory Over N.C. Central
December 22, 2009 | Men's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State men's basketball team headed into its holiday break with a solid 59-45 victory over visiting North Carolina Central Monday night at Worthen Arena. The Cardinals used a strong post presence that saw BSU score 36 points in the paint as three different forwards reached double figures in scoring.
"I liked how we bounced back tonight after a slow start," head coach Billy Taylor said. "We got great energy from our bench tonight as Malik (Perry) was huge and played with energy, Brawley (Chisholm) played like a point guard tonight and we got great minutes from Myron (Green) and John (Green). We made a conscious effort tonight to attack the paint and our guys were aggressive all game long."
Junior forward Malik Perry (Philadelphia, Pa./Philadelphia Lutheran) came off of the bench for the first time this season and provided a huge spark as he tied his season-high with 17 points. Perry continued his strong shooting as he connected on seven-of-11 from the field and was a perfect three-of-three from the free throw line.
Sophomore forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) posted his second double-double of the season and second in three games as he scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Jones hit five-of-10 from the field and six-of-eight from the line as he scored 12 of his points in the second half.
Ball State (4-5) played an unselfish brand of basketball in the victory as it dished out a season-high 17 assists on just 22 field goals. Freshman guards Jauwan Scaife (Muncie, Ind./Central) and John Green (Osceola, Ind./Naval Academy Prep) each handed out four assists and Jones recorded a career-high three assists as seven different Cardinals notched helpers.
North Carolina Central (2-10) opened the game quickly as it scored the first six points of the game to force Ball State into an early timeout. Taylor went to the bench early and saw immediate results as the Cardinals responded with seven straight points. Freshman guard Myron Green Jr. (Long Beach, Calif./Dominguez) highlighted the early going as he scored five points, including his first career three-pointer.
The two teams traded baskets before Ball State posted a 10-2 run to take an 18-12 lead with just under six minutes left in the first half. Perry ignited the stretch as he scored five straight points, including an old-fashioned three-point play.
The Cardinals took their biggest lead of the first half as they posted a 6-1 run to take a 27-17 lead with 2:37 left in the half. Jones capped the spurt as he scored on a fast break alley-oop from senior forward Terrence Watson (Detroit, Mich./Univ. of Mississippi). North Carolina Central narrowed the deficit in the final two minutes to 28-23 heading into the locker room as the Eagles hit their first two three-pointers of the night, both from forward Nick Chasten.
The Cardinals finished the first half shooting 36.7 percent (11-of-30) from the field and 28.6 percent (two-of-seven) from three-point land. Perry paced the Cardinals as he scored 12 points off of the bench on five-of-seven shooting while Jones added seven first half rebounds. Ball State was strong on the glass in the opening frame as it out-rebounded NCCU by a 24-13 margin.
The Eagles finished the half shooting 35.7 percent (10-of-28) from the field and just 18.2 percent (two-of-11) from long range. Chasten led NCCU with eight first half points while Michael Glasker dished out six assists.
The Cardinals opened the second half on a 6-2 run as Watson scored four early points, but North Carolina Central responded with a 7-1 run to narrow the gap to 37-34 with just over 12 minutes remaining. Ball State answered with five straight points to extend the lead back to eight at 42-34 as Watson converted an old-fashioned three-point play.
The Eagles remained resilient as they chipped the BSU lead back to five points at 44-39 but the Cardinals responded with the knockout punch. Ball State posted a 15-4 run over the ensuing four-minute stretch to extend the lead to 16 points at 59-43.
Perry ignited the run with a three-point play before Jones took the game over as he scored 10 straight points for the Cardinals. He scored six straight on back-to-back possessions as he converted two three-point plays off of dunks. Senior guard Brawley Chisholm (Bronx, N.Y,/Western Texas College) capped the run with a pair of free throws as Ball State hit 76.5 percent (13-of-17) from the line on the night.
Ball State finished the game shooting 44.0 percent (22-of-50) from the field and 25 percent (two-of-eight) from three-point land. The Cardinals dominated the glass as they out-rebounded NCCU by a 37-23 margin. In fact, BSU posted more defensive rebounds (25) than the Eagles had total rebounds (23).
Watson rounded out the Cardinals' post players in double figures as he scored 12 points as he was five-of-12 from the field. Scaife chipped in seven points, while Green Jr. added a career-high five points in the victory.
North Carolina Central ended the night shooting 40 percent (20-of-50) from the field and was held to just 17.6 percent (three-of-17) shooting from long range. The Cardinals held NCCU leading scorer C.J. Wilkerson in check for most of the game as he finished with just 11 points after coming off of a 28-point effort at Indiana Saturday. Forward Dijon Manns scored a career-high 13 points off of the bench for the Eagles.
Ball State will be off the following week for the holiday break. The Cardinals return to action next Monday, December 28 when they host Maryland Eastern Shore at 7 p.m. at Worthen Arena.
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