Ball State University
2-3
Butler
5-2
Men's Basketball Falls To Nationally Ranked Butler
December 03, 2009 | Men's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State men's basketball team dropped a 59-38 contest to No. 20/23 Butler Wednesday night in front of 6,996 fans at Worthen Arena. The loss drops the Cardinals to 2-3 overall on the season while the Bulldogs improve to 5-2 on the season.
"We are obviously disappointed in tonight's game," head coach Billy Taylor said. "We are a young team and we have a lot of areas we need to work on. Our guys know we are only five games into the year and we can learn a lot from these games that will make us better as the season goes forward."
Junior forward Malik Perry (Philadelphia, Pa./Philadelphia Lutheran) led the Cardinals with 11 points and six rebounds in the loss. Perry was a perfect three-of-three from the field, while also connecting on five-of-six from the free throw line.
Sophomore forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) opened the scoring with the game's first basket to give BSU the early lead, but Butler responded with 10 straight points to force a Cardinals' timeout. Butler guard Shelvin Mack ignited the early going as he scored nine points in the run and 12 of the Bulldogs first 13 points as he nailed four consecutive three-pointers.
Ball State slowed the momentum down as sophomore guard Pierre Sneed (Chicago, Ill./Simeon) scored a pair of baskets, including a thunderous dunk on a fast break. The Bulldogs broke the game open though with a 13-3 run to take a 29-11 lead heading into halftime.
Ball State connected on just 19 percent (four-of-20) from the field in the first half and missed all six of its three-pointers. Butler connected on 47.1 percent (eight-of-17) from the field in the opening frame, including 41.7 percent (five-of-12) from long range.
The Cardinals battled in the second half but could not cut into the lead as they played the Bulldogs close (30-27) in the half. Freshman guard John Green (Osceola, Ind./Naval Academy Prep) came off the bench and provided the Cardinals with a spark on both ends of the court as he played a career-high 21 minutes. Green finished the game with three points and two rebounds while also recording an assist, a steal and a block.
Ball State finished the game shooting 31.7 percent (13-of-41) from the field and just 11.1 percent (one-of-nine) from long range. Sneed turned in a solid effort off the bench as he scored six points and grabbed four rebounds in 26 minutes of play. Jones finished the night with nine points as he was four-of-12 from the field.
Butler ended the game shooting 39.5 percent (17-of-43) from the field and 33.3 percent (nine-of-27) from long range. Mack led the Bulldogs with 115 points while Gordon Hayward chipped in 15 points and nine rebounds. Matt Howard added 11 points, including six-of-nine shooting from the free throw line.
The Cardinals will be off until next Wednesday night when they travel to Indiana State. Tip-off is set for 8:05 p.m. and will be broadcast by the Ball State Sports Network.
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