Ball State University
12-13
Tennessee Tech
11-17
Men?s Hoops Downs TTU 59-55 In ESPNU BracketBusters
February 21, 2009 | Men's Basketball
“Obviously, it was a tough ball game for us today,” head coach Billy Taylor said. “We had a pretty nice first half as our defense was good, we contested shots and did a great job on the glass. I was hoping our guys would build on our first half but we allowed some drives and really lost our focus and intensity.”
Freshman forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) was one of three Cardinals in double figures as he scored a game-high 16 points and also grabbed seven rebounds. Jones was strong from the free throw line in the victory as he connected on eight-of-nine from the charity stripe. Senior guard Laron Frazier (Waukegan, Ill./Highland CC) added 14 points as he was six-of-nine from the line as Ball State connected on 23-of-37 (62.2%) from the free throw stripe.
“I'm thankful that we're at the point now in only year two of our program that we've become greedy,” Taylor said. “We don't want to just win, we want to win and win in impressive fashion. We've got a lot of young players and we're making mistakes out there but we are hustling and we found a way to win the game today.”
The Cardinals came out of the gate quickly against TTU and they used the three-pointer to get the offense going as BSU nailed three long range shots in the first four-plus minutes. Frazier nailed a three-pointer to give Ball State the early 12-7 lead. Tennessee Tech weathered the early storm and pulled within two at 14-12 just over eight minutes into the game.
Ball State got some breathing room as it ran off a 9-2 run to take a 23-14 lead as Jones scored on back-to-back possessions and Frazier nailed another three-pointer. After a basket by the Golden Eagles, the Cardinals posted a 12-3 run to take the largest lead of the game at 32-17 with just under a minute to play in the half. Jones scored five points in the run, including an old-fashioned three-point play, while junior forward Eric Wormely (Joliet, Ill./Kishwaukee CC) scored on an offensive put-back to cap the run.
The Cardinals connected on 37.5 percent (12-of-32) from the field in the first half and 40 percent (four-of-10) from long range. Jones paced the first half with 10 points and six rebounds. Ball State won the battle on the boards in the opening frame as it grabbed eight offensive rebounds compared to just one offensive rebound for TTU. Tennessee Tech finished the first half shooting 37.5 percent (six-of-16) from the field and it missed all three of its long range shots.
The Golden Eagles opened the second half with an 11-3 run to pull within six points at 34-25. The Cardinals slowed the run and took a nine-point lead at 39-30 as freshman guard Randy Davis (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth) nailed a three-pointer at the 12:03 mark of the second half for the Cardinals' first field goal of the half.
After Davis' three-pointer, Tennessee Tech responded with a 9-1 run to pull within one point at 40-39 and force a BSU timeout. The Golden Eagles nailed three straight three-pointers on the run to pull as close as they would in the second half.
The Cardinals stretched the lead back to a seven points as Frazier nailed three free throws and senior guard Brandon Lampley (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton) hit a three-pointer from the corner to force TTU into a timeout. The Golden Eagles kept battling as they narrowed the deficit to two twice down the stretch but each time Jones answered with a pair of free throw to move the BSU lead back to four points.
Ball State had a 55-49 lead with 39.8 second left but Tennessee Tech got a three-pointer from Frank Davis to pull back within three at 55-52. After a Frazier free throw, the Golden Eagles pulled back within two points as 56-54. Davis missed two free throws to leave the door open but Murphy was only able to hit one of his free throws to pull TTU within one at 56-55. Lampley nailed both of his free throws with 3.2 seconds left to extend the lead back to three points as freshman guard Pierre Sneed (Chicago, Ill./Simeon) was able to steal the long inbounds pass on the ensuing possession to seal the Ball State victory.
The Cardinals finished the game shooting just 28.8 percent (15-of-52) from the field as they hit just three-of-20 (15.0%) in the second half. Ball State was able to get to the free throw line in the second half as it connected on 19-of-29 (65.5%) from the stripe. The 37 free throws by the Cardinals is the second most attempts this season for BSU falling just short of the 38 free throws Ball State had in the victory over SIU-Edwardsville.
Lampley finished the game with 11 points, including two three-pointers while also grabbing five rebounds. Sophomore forward Malik Perry (Philadelphia, Pa./Philadelphia Lutheran) grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive glass, and also scored four points in 27 minutes of action.
Tennessee Tech finished the game shooting 38.3 percent (18-of-47) from the field and 30.8 percent (four-of-13) from three-point land. The Golden Eagles were led by forward Daniel Northern's double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds as Northern was the only TTU player in double figures in the loss.
Ball State returns to action in the Mid-American Conference this week as it hosts Central Michigan Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Worthen Arena. The Cardinals enter the final four MAC games in a first place tie atop the West Division with Western Michigan and Central Michigan is just one game behind in third place.
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