Ball State University Athletics
Men's Hoops Hosts Eastern Michigan Sunday On Senior Day
March 08, 2009 | Men's Basketball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State hosts Eastern Michigan in the 2008-09 regular season finale Sunday with its eyes on a Mid-American Conference West Division title and the ensuing number two seed in next week's MAC Tournament ... The Cardinals enter Sunday's game against Eastern Michigan with a 13-15 overall record and a 7-8 mark in MAC play ... BSU has dropped two straight games by a combined three points ... The Cardinals are led by second-year head coach Billy Taylor ... Eastern Michigan enters the game with a 7-23 overall record and a 5-10 mark in conference play ... The Eagles have won three straight and four of their last six games ... EMU is led by fourth-year head coach Charles Ramsey.
Ball State is in a first place tie with Western Michigan with just one game left in the season ... The Cardinals clinch the MAC West title and the number two seed with a victory Sunday, while Eastern Michigan is battling for tournament seeding as the Eagles could be anywhere from a No. 9-11 seed in the tournament ... The game will also mark senior day for the Cardinals as BSU honors Laron Frazier, Rob Giles, Brandon Lampley and Anthony Newell with a presentation before the game.
Sunday's game will be broadcast by the Ball State Sports Network (BSSN) ... Jerry Peirson and Vince Welch will handle the color commentary and play-by-play duties ... Affiliates for the game include WIPB-Muncie, FSN-Detroit, WYIN-Merrillville, WNDA Jeffersonville/Louisville, Hometown Television 19 ? Noblesville/Indianapolis & WJTS Jasper.
Series History With Eastern Michigan . . .
Sunday's game marks the 77th meeting all-time between Ball State and Eastern Michigan ... The Cardinals own a 53-33 advantage in the all-time series, including a 46-42 victory over the Eagles earlier this season ... The victory was only the Cardinals' second in the past seven meetings with EMU ... Ball State owns a 24-13 record all-time against the Eagles in Muncie, including a 64-60 victory last season in Worthen Arena.
Earlier this year, the Cardinals opened Mid-American Conference action with a hard fought four-point victory ... The win came at a cost though as senior forward Anthony Newell suffered a season-ending broken leg at the 12:04 mark of the second half ... Newell had already posted a double-double before the injury as he scored 12 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
Ball State limited the Eagles to just 13 first half points and only four first half field goals ... EMU's 13 points are the second-fewest points scored in the first half in Convocation Center history and the lowest for the Eagles since moving to the arena in 1998 ... Eastern Michigan was held to just 28.6 percent (14-of-49) shooting from the field in the game and just 16.7 percent (three-of-18) from three-point land.
Freshman forward Jarrod Jones finished the game with a team-high 15 points as he was seven-of-13 from the field ... Jones also added six rebounds, two blocked shots and one steal in the victory ... Senior guard Rob Giles added seven points and four rebounds while freshman guard Randy Davis finished with six points.
Heating The Lamp-ley . . .
Senior guard Brandon Lampley has picked up his shooting recently as he leads the Mid-American Conference in three-point percentage at 46.5 percent (33-of-71) this season ... If the season ended today, Lampley's percentage would be the third highest in a single season in Ball State history.
Additionally, Lampley as picked up the pace in MAC games this season as he is shooting 57.9 percent (22-of-38) from long range in conference games this season.
MAC Tournament . . .
The 2009 Mid-American Conference Tournament begins next week and all 12 tournament seeds are still up for grabs as no teams have locked up a seed heading into the final day of the regular season ... Ball State enters the season finale in a first place tie in the MAC West Division with Wester Michigan ... The Cardinals can clinch a MAC West Division championship and the number two seed in the upcoming MAC Tournament with a victory Sunday over Eastern Michigan, regardless of what Western Michigan does ... Ball State owns the tiebreaker against WMU by virtue of their victory over Buffalo.
If BSU would lose Sunday, the Cardinals would need victories by Central Michigan (vs. WMU) and Buffalo (vs. Miami) to still get the number two seed as a three-way tie atop the MAC West Division would ensue.
Heading into today's action, the seeding for the 2009 MAC Tournament is as follows:
1.) Miami (17-11,10-5)
2.) Ball State (13-15, 7-8)
3.) Akron (19-11, 10-5)
4.) Bowling Green (17-12, 10-5)
5.) Buffalo (18-10, 10-5)
6.) Kent State (17-13, 9-6)
7.) Western Michigan (10-19, 7-8)
8.) Ohio (14-15, 7-8)
9.) Central Michigan (10-18, 6-9)
10.) Eastern Michigan (7-23, 5-10)
11.) Northern Illinois (10-18, 5-10)
12.) Toledo (6-24, 4-11)
Freshman Honors For Jones . . .
Freshman forward Jarrod Jones leads the Cardinals in scoring at 11.1 points per game and in rebounding at 7.4 boards per contest ... Jones is second among freshmen in the Mid-American Conference in scoring and first in the MAC on the glass for freshmen ... He also leads all freshman in field goal percentage 45.6 ... He has been named the MACReportOnline.com mid-season Newcomer of the Year.
Jones has scored 311 points this season, which is the fifth highest total for a Ball State freshman in program history ... He just moved past former Cardinal Mike Drews on the all-time freshman scoring list with his 20 point effort at Western Michigan.
Below is the list of freshman scoring seasons in Ball State history.
1. 474 - Bonzi Wells (1994-95)
2. 463 - Ray McCallum (1979-80)
3. 377 - Theron Smith (1999-00)
4. 344 - Randy Boarden (1975-76)
5. 311 - Jarrod Jones (2008-09)
6. 299 - Mike Drews (1977-78)
7. 275 - Duane Clemens (1996-97)
8. 258 - Maurice Acker (2005-06)
9. 252 - Derrick Wesley (1984-85)
10. 241 - Melvin Goins (2007-08)
11. 233 - Shafer Suggs (1973-74)
The Freshman Rebounds Too . . .
Freshman forward Jarrod Jones also leads the Cardinals in rebounding at 7.4 boards per game ... Jones has grabbed 207 rebounds this season which is third most by a Ball State freshman in program history ... He moved ahead of former Cardinal Bonzi Wells in freshman rebounding.
1. 277 - Randy Boarden (1975-76)
2. 237 - Theron Smith (1999-00)
3. 207 - Jarrod Jones (2008-09)
4. 183 - Bonzi Wells (1994-95)
5. 159 - Shafer Suggs (1973-74)
6. 152 - Kevin Cates (2002-03)
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters Sunday's game with a 13-15 overall record and a 7-8 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals have dropped back-to-back last second games at Northern Illinois and Western Michigan ... Ball state is averaging 58.1 points per game this season while allowing 59.7 points per game ... The Cardinals are shooting 41.2 percent (587-of-1426) from the field and 34.0 percent (122-of-359) from three-point land ... Opponents are shooting 42.0 percent (595-of-1416) from the field and 30.9 percent (131-of-424) from long range ... Ball State is out-rebounding opponents by a 34.9-33.1 margin.
Freshman forward Jarrod Jones leads the team in scoring at 11.1 points per game and on the glass at 7.4 rebounds per contest ... Jones also leads the team with 31 blocked shots ... Senior guard Brandon Lampley is second on the team in scoring t 10.4 points per game and has connected on a conference best 46.5 percent (33-of-71) from three-point land.
Senior guard Laron Frazier adds 8.6 points per game while classmate Rob Giles chips in 8.0 points per game ... Sophomore forward Malik Perry adds 4.9 rebounds per contest, which is second best on the team.
Scouting The Eagles . . .
Eastern Michigan enters Sunday's game with a 7-23 overall record and a 5-10 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Eagles have won three straight with wins over Toledo, Central Michigan and most recently Northern Illinois ... EMU is averaging 57.7 points per game this season while allowing 64.2 points per game against ... The Eagles are shooting 40.4 percent (631-of-1560) from the field and 30.4 percent (146-of-481) from three-point land ... Opponents are shooting 43.6 percent (703-of-1614) from the field and 35.0 percent (169-of-483) from long range ... Eastern Michigan is out-rebounding opponents by a 34.6-33.7 margin.
Forward Brandon Bowdry leads the Eagles in scoring at 14.9 points per game and on the glass at 7.1 boards per game ... Fellow forward Justin Dobbins adds 10.0 points per game and 4.9 caroms per contest.
Guard Zane Gay chips in 7.2 points per game while L.J. Frazier adds 6.3 points per game and a team-high 63 assists.
Last Time Out . . .
The Cardinals suffered a heartbreaking 84-82 overtime loss at Western Michigan Wednesday night ... Ball State overcame a 16-point deficit to take a second half lead only to see WMU hit a shot at the buzzer to send the game into overtime ... The Cardinals out-scored WMU 47-33 in the second half as they connected on 57.6 percent (19-of-33) from the field.
Five Cardinals scored in double figures in the loss as BSU tied its season-high with 82 points ... Freshman forward Jarrod Jones played a career-high 40 minutes in the loss as he scored a team-high 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds ... Senior guard Brandon Lampley continued his strong play as he scored 19 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out four assists and recorded two steals.
Freshman forward Mo Hubbard turned in the best performance of his young career in the loss as he scored a career-high 14 points, grabbed four rebounds, notched two blocks and tallied a steal ... Hubbard connected on six-of-11 from the field in the loss and also was two-of-two from the free throw line ... All 14 of his points came in the second half or in overtime.
Senior guards Rob Giles and Laron Frazier each added 11 points while Frazier also handed out a career-high six assists ... Sophomore forward Malik Perry grabbed seven rebounds as did Jones and Lampley.
Wednesday's game was the Cardinals' first overtime contest of the season and their first since last season's 64-61 loss at Kent State (2/6/07)
Familiar Faces . . .
Wednesday's overtime contest against Western Michigan saw the Cardinal starters log extra minutes ... Freshman forward Jarrod Jones played a career-high 40 minutes in the loss while senior guard Brandon Lampley played a season-high 39 minutes ... Senior guard Rob Giles played a career-high 41 minutes even though he fouled out in the overtime period.
Differences Between W's & L's . . .
The Cardinals enter Sunday's game with a 13-15 overall record on the season and a 7-8 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... Ball State is averaging 59.5 points per game during its 13 wins compared to 56.9 points per game in its 15 losses ... Also, the Cardinals' defense holds opponents to 52.2 points per game in the victories and 66.2 points per game in the losses.
In Wins - In Losses
Offense 59.5 - 56.9
Defense 52.2 - 66.2
FG% 40.3 - 41.9
FG% Def. 37.3 - 46.0
3Pt% 33.8 - 34.2
3Pt% Def. 28.3 - 33.2
Reb. Off. 37.6 - 32.6
Reb. Def. 33.7 - 32.6
Reb. Margin +3.9 - -0.0
Assists/Gm 11.9 - 10.4
Turnovers/Gm 11.5 - 14.8
Assist/TO Ratio 1.1 - 0.7
Cardinals Vs. MAC West . . .
The 2008-09 season marks the 12th season that the Mid-American Conference has been in two divisions (West & East) ... Ball State, which has always been a member of the West Division, owns a 65-49 record against its own division since the two-division format was implemented in the 1997-98 season ... The Cardinals posted a 5-4 record so far this season against their division ... Ball State has recorded seven .500 or better seasons against the West Division and just four records under .500 ... The Cardinals' last winning record against the West Division came during the 2004-05 season when they posted a 7-2 mark against divisional foes.
Since divisional play, Ball State is 15-9 during the regular season against Northern Illinois, 15-8 against Central Michigan, 13-10 against Toledo, 12-8 against Eastern Michigan and 10-14 against Western Michigan.
Conversely, the Cardinals are 37-44 all-time against the East Division since the 1997-98 season including a 2-4 mark this season ... Ball State is 10-3 during the regular season against Buffalo, 6-3 against Bowling Green, 5-7 against Akron, 5-5 against Ohio, 4-6 against Kent State, 2-6 against Marshall and 5-14 against Miami since divisional play.
Double Figure Victories . . .
Ball State's victory over Central Michigan gave the Cardinals 13 victories on the season ... The 13 victories surpasses the Cardinals' win total from last season, in fact it more than doubles last season's 6-24 record ... The Cardinals' 13 wins are also the most wins since the 2004-05 season when Ball State won 15 games ... That season also marked the last time that Ball State has finished with an above .500 record ... The Cardinals surpassed last season's win total in just 14 games this season.
Also, Ball State is at the .500 mark 26 games into the season for the first time since 2004-05 season when BSU was 14-12 on the year ... The Cardinals have won seven Mid-American Conference games this season, surpassing last season's 5-11 record in conference play ... The seven MAC wins are also the most in a season since BSU won 10 in the 2004-05 season.
Clamping Down . . .
The trademark of a Billy Taylor led team begins on the defensive end of the court and that has been no different during his time here at Ball State ... Through the first 28 games of the season, the Cardinals are holding opponents to 59.7 points per game ... The scoring defense is the third rated unit in the MAC ... The Cardinals have only allowed six opponents to score more than 70 points this season ... Ball State is 12-3 when it holds opponents under 60 points and is 7-2 in MAC play when it holds opponents under 60 points.
The Cardinals' defense is the 21st rated defense in the NCAA Division I ... Washington State leads Division I in defense as 55.1 points per game ... BSU is also 15th in the nation in three-point percentage defense at 30.9 percent ... St. Louis leads the nation at 26.4 percent.
Additionally, Ball State has turned up the heat on defense during the first 15 Mid-American Conference games ... The Cardinals are holding MAC opponents to just 57.4 points per game, which is the third rated scoring defense in the MAC.
Ball State has limited four opponents, Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Ohio and Central Michigan to under 45 points this season ... This is the first time since the 1949-50 season that the Cardinals have held four opponents to under 45 points in a season ... The 1949-50 team held Anderson to 38 points, Miami to 44 points, Eastern Michigan to 41 points and Wabash to 44 points.
This is also the first time in Ball State history that is has held four MAC teams to under 45 points in the same season ... In 1991-92, the Cardinals held three MAC teams to less than 50 points (Toledo - 34, Miami - 43, Central Michigan - 46).
The Cardinals held Central Michigan to a season-low 44 points in the victory as they limited the Chippewas to just 16 field goals and only four three-pointers.
BSU held the Bobcats to just 44 points in the victory, which was a season-low for Ohio ... The 44 points scored is the lowest output for Ohio since the 1990-91 season.
Ball State held the Broncos to a season-low 44 points ... The Cardinals held WMU to just 27.5 percent shooting in the victory on just 14 field goals.
The Cardinals held Northern Illinois to just 54 points in their victory despite NIU averaging 70.2 points per game on the season ... Ball State also held the Huskies to just 20 second half points and only seven field goals in the half .... The 20 points are a season-low for the Huskies in a half.
Against Eastern Michigan, the Cardinals held EMU to just 42 total points ... Ball State limited the Eagles to just 13 first half points and only four first half field goals ... EMU's 13 points are the second-fewest points scored in the first half in Convocation Center history and the lowest for the Eagles since moving to the arena in 1998.
Crashing The Glass . . .
Freshman forward Jarrod Jones has picked up his intensity on the glass over recently... Jones, who is third in the Mid-American Conference in rebounding (7.4), is averaging 8.1 rebounds per game in MAC play this season which leads the conference ... During that time, he has reached double figures in boards three times with 15 against Toledo, 12 against Akron and 11 against Western Michigan.
Cardinals In MAC Stats . . .
Entering Sunday's game, the Cardinals have a couple of players sprinkled throughout the Mid-American Conference individual statistic rankings.
Freshman forward Jarrod Jones enters the game fourth in rebounding at 7.4 boards per game ... Jones is 17th in scoring at 11.1 points and is 13th in field goal percentage at 45.6 percent ... Jones is fourth in blocked shots at 1.11 rejections per game ... He is third in defensive rebounds (5.00) and sixth in offensive rebounds (2.39)
Senior guard Brandon Lampley enters the game leading the conference in three-point percentage at 46.5 ... Lampley is also 12th in the conference in field goal percentage at 45.6 percent ... He is 13th in the MAC in assists at 2.64 per game ... He is 10th in the conference in free throw percentage at 72.0 percent ... He is also 20th in scoring at 10.4 points per game.
Sophomore forward Malik Perry is 20th in the conference on the glass at 4.9 boards per game and is eighth on the offensive glass at 2.31 caroms per game.
Hitting The Glass . . .
The Cardinals enter Sunday's game ranked second in the Mid-American Conference in rebounding margin at +1.8 ... Ball State has out-rebounded its opponents 19 out of its 28 games this season ... Ball State also is only the fourth team this season to out-rebound Buffalo, which is the best rebounding team in the conference ... BSU is second in the MAC on the defensive glass as it averages 24.00 defensive boards per game and is fourth overall in rebounding defense at 33.1 ... The Cardinals only out-rebounded their opponents 13 times last season ... Prior to the first four games of this season, the last time Ball State out-rebounded four straight opponents was from January 24, 2007 through February 3, 2007 (Akron, Bowling Green, Kent State & Ohio).
Earlier this season, the Cardinals held a 15-rebound advantage against Presbyterian (40-25) and grabbed a season-high 17 offensive rebounds.
Freshman forward Jarrod Jones grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds in the Cardinals' victory over Toledo ... Jones grabbed seven offensive rebounds and eight defensive boards ... The 15 rebounds are the most for a Cardinal this season and the most since Anthony Newell grabbed 15 boards at Buffalo last season (Feb. 13).
Also, sophomore forward Malik Perry and Jones each grabbed 11 rebounds in Tuesday's victory over Western Michigan ... This marked the second time this season that two Cardinals have reach double figures in rebounds ... Jones and forward Anthony Newell accomplished the feat against Butler in the second game of the season.
Fast MAC Start . . .
The Cardinals opened Mid-American Conference action with a 5-2 record through the first seven games, marking their best start in conference action since the 2003-04 season when the Cardinals opened 5-2 on the year ... Ball State opened with a 2-0 record after downing Eastern Michigan 46-42 in Ypsilanti and picking up a 60-54 victory over Northern Illinois at home ... The 2-0 start in MAC play is the best start for the Cardinals in conference since the 1999-2000 season when Ball State also opened 2-0 with wins over Northern Illinois and Toledo.
Home Sweet Home . . .
Sunday's game marks the 255th game for the Cardinals in Worthen Arena (previously University Arena) since its opening January 15, 1992 ... Ball State owns a 186-68 record all-time in Worthen Arena, which is good for .732 winning percentage ... The Cardinals opened the 2008-09 season with their 175th career victory in Worthen Arena as they downed Eastern Illinois 72-59 ... BSU picked up its second home win of the season against SIU-Edwardsville ... The Cardinals also have home wins against Presbyterian, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Toledo, Ohio, Buffalo, Tennessee Tech and Central Michigan ... Ball State is 10-5 so far this season at home, including 6-1 against Mid-American Conference teams ... Ball State has averaged just over 10 wins per season at home since Worthen Arena opened its doors.
Newell Out For The Season . . .
Senior forward Anthony Newell suffered a season-ending injury at Eastern Michigan as he broke his right leg at the 12:04 mark of the second half ... Newell was transported to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ypsilanti where he underwent a successful surgery to repair the injury.
Newell was having another successful game prior to the injury as he had already posted his sixth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds ... He finishes his career just five points shy of becoming the 25th player in Ball State history to reach 1,000 career points as he finishes with 995 career points ... He has been named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week three times this season as he averaged 15.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game through the first 13 games of the season.
Did You Know . . .
Ball State's victory at Wisconsin-Milwaukee (11/25/08) was its first on the road this season ... Ball State did not register a road victory until February 13, 2008 at Buffalo ... The Cardinals picked up their second road win at IPFW ... Last season, BSU only recorded one road win all season and the Cardinals only picked up two road wins the entire 2006-07 season ... The back-to-back road wins for the Cardinals marks the first time Ball State has won consecutive road games since the 2003-04 season ... That year, the Cardinals picked up wins at Marshall and Bowling Green.
The Cardinals claimed their first Mid-American Conference road victory of the season in the MAC opener at Eastern Michigan ... The victory is the third road win of the season for the Cardinals, which is the most road wins in a seasons since Ball State won four games in the 2005-06 road schedule.
Media Exposure . . .
The Billy Taylor television show airs Tuesday evenings at 6 p.m. on WIPB-TV (Muncie Ch. 2) ... The half hour show is hosting by Wil Hampton and is a production of the Ball State Sports Network.
Sunday's game against Western Michigan will be broadcast by the Ball State Sports Network, marking the 10th game this season that BSSN has broadcasted ... Vince Welch and Jerry Peirson will provide the call for the game against the Eagles.
Coach Taylor will also be on 104.9 WERK FM Thursdays from 7-7:30 p.m. for the Cardinal Fast Break Show live from Cheeseburger In Paradise.
New To The Lineup . . .
Head coach Billy Taylor has started 10 different players so far this season ... Five players, Jarrod Jones, Randy Davis, Mo Hubbard, Eric Wormely and Pierre Sneed, have started their first career games this season for the Cardinals .... Jones and Hubbard started the season opening game against Eastern Illinois while Davis picked up his first career start against Presbyterian ... Jones scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in his first start while Davis scored 11 points and handed out five assists in his first start ... Wormely recorded his first career start for the Cardinals last time out at UC-Santa Barbara and scored a season-high seven points.
Sneed picked up his first career start against Saint Joseph's after only playing 10 minutes all season prior to the start ... he played a career-high nine minutes against the Hawks.
Last season, five different players recorded their first career start for the Cardinals in Melvin Goins, Rashaun McLemore, Laron Frazier, Rob Giles and Malik Perry.
Double-Dipping . . .
The Cardinals have had 10 double-doubles so far this season with senior forward Anthony Newell recording six, freshman forward Jarrod Jones adding three double-dips and senior guard Rob Giles added one ... Newell has posted double-doubles against Butler, SIU-Edwardsville, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, IPFW, Evansville and Eastern Michigan ... Jones has accomplished the feat against Eastern Illinois and Butler while Giles added his at Toledo.
Newell had a streak of three straight double-doubles earlier this season (Butler, SIUE, UWM) ... The last two Cardinals to record three straight double-doubles in a season were Newell and Terrance Chapman ... Newell accomplished the feat three straight games in the 2006-07 season from March 1 through March 7 ... Chapman tallied three straight during the 2004-05 season between January 29 and February 3.
Newell and Jones both posted double-doubles in the Cardinals' loss at Butler ... They are the first Cardinals to post a double-double in the same game since Robert Owns and Cameron Echols both accomplished the feat February 6, 2003.
Jones also recorded two double-doubles in his first two career collegiate games ... He recorded 21 points and 13 rebounds in his collegiate debut against Eastern Illinois before scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 rebounds at Butler ... He is the only player in the Mid-American Conference to open the season with back-to-back double-doubles this year.
He added his third career double dip against Toledo as he scored 13 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds.
Giles posted his first career double-double Wednesday at Toledo as he scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds ... The 12 rebounds are double his previous career high of six rebounds.
Top 20 On The Glass . . .
Senior forward Anthony Newell moved into the top 20 all-time rebounders in Ball State history earlier this season ... Newell is the 19th player all-time in Ball State history to reach 500 career boards .... He grabbed 10 rebounds against Eastern Michigan to move his career total to 585 caroms ... He moved up one spot on the career rebounding list to 12th place all-time as he past former Cardinal Chris Collins (1971-74) ... He past former Cardinals Paris McCurdy (1988-90), Shafer Suggs (1972-75), Jeermal Sylvester (1990-94) and Chandler Thompson (1989-92) earlier this season ... Ed Butler (1961-64) holds the Ball State career record for caroms with 1,231 boards.
11. Bill Gillis - 606
12. Anthony Newell - 585
13. Chris Collins - 577
14. Paris McCurdy - 547
Jones Earns Weekly Honors . . .
Freshman forward Jarrod Jones was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week (Feb. 2) ... Jones guided the Cardinals into sole possession of first place in the MAC West Division as he averaged 14.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game on the week ... He scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds at Bowling Green before added 13 points and eight rebounds against Ohio ... He also tallied a career-high four blocked shots against the Bobcats.
Jones leads the Cardinals in scoring at 11.3 points per game. He is the second highest scoring freshman in the MAC this season, trailing only Mike DiNunno (12.7) of Northern Illinois. He also leads the Cardinals in rebounding at 7.3 boards per game and is the leading freshman on the glass in the MAC.
Newell Garners Weekly Nods . . .
Senior forward Anthony Newell has been named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week on three different occasions this season ... Newell is the only player in the West Division of the MAC this season that has received the award on three different occasions ... Michael Bramos of Miami has received the nod three times this season from the East Division.
Newell picked up his first honor November 24 after posting back-to-back double-doubles against Butler and SIU-Edwardsville ... Newell averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds per game on the week ... He scored a game-high 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds at Butler ... He followed with a 15-point, 13-rebound effort in the Cardinals' win against SIUE.
Newell claimed his second award December 8 after again posting back-to-back double-doubles as he averaged 13.0 points and 12.5 rebounds per game ... He recorded a double-double in the Cardinals' victory at IPFW as he grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds and scored 11 points including the game-winning shot as time expired to send the Cardinals to victory ... He followed that up with a 15-point, 12-rebound effort at Evansville
He garnered the award a third on December 22 after leading the Cardinals to a 60-57 victory over Presbyterian ... He scored a season-high 20 points as he connected on seven-of-13 from the field and grabbed 13 rebounds.
Cardinals Sign Two Recruits . . .
Head coach Billy Taylor and his staff announced the signings of Huzie Hambrite and Jauwan Scaife to national letters of intent during the early signing period.
Hambrite, a 6-0 guard from Indianapolis, is entering his second year at Lake Land College after playing at Indianapolis Northwest High School ... He led the Lakers in scoring last season as a freshman as he averaged 16 points per game, while also leading the team in assists (101) and steals (29) ... He opened his sophomore season Wednesday with 12 points and six assists as he led Lake Land to a 93-76 victory over Parkland College.
Scaife, a 6-2 guard from Muncie, is entering his senior season at Muncie Central High School ... He averaged 14.5 points per game and 4.1 rebounds per contest as a junior ... He made 46.9 percent of his field goals, including a 46.8 percent clip from three-point land ... He was tabbed as the “Top Sleeper” in the 2008-09 Indiana senior class by the Rick Bolus High Potential Report.
Walking The Stage . . .
The Cardinals have a unique situation this season as two of their four seniors, Anthony Newell and Brandon Lampley, received their bachelor degrees this summer ... Newell became the first member of his family to earn a degree as he received a bachelor of science in criminal justice ... He is working on a second bachelor degree this season ... Lampley also graduated this summer as he earned his degree in english studies ... He is working on his master's degree in secondary education this season.
Eight New Faces . . .
The Cardinals welcome in eight newcomers this season in the form of three transfers and five freshmen ... Forward Terrence Watson joins the Cardinals as a senior and will sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules after coming to BSU from Ole Miss ... Also transferring into Ball State is junior college guard Brawley Chisholm and JUCO forward Eric Wormely.
The Cardinals' five freshmen include guard Randy Davis, guard Pierre Sneed, forward Maurice Hubbard, forward Jarrod Jones and center Zach Fields ... This five-member freshman class marks the largest class of true freshmen for the Cardinals since the 1994-95 season when Ball State also welcomed in five freshmen ... The five freshmen that season were Antwaan Jones, Ryan Reed, Charles Smith, Steve Smith and Bonzi Wells.
Brought To New Heights . . .
Last season, the Cardinals' tallest player on the team was 6-foot 5-inch forward Anthony Newell ...This season, Ball State brings a markedly taller version of the Cardinals to the court ... Ball State has four players this season that are taller than 6-5 including forward Maurice Hubbard (6-6), forward Eric Wormely (6-8), forward Jarrod Jones (6-9) and center Zach Fields (6-10) ... Newell is the fifth tallest player on the team this year.
88th Season Underway . . .
Ball State is in its 88th season in program history ... The Cardinals have posted a 1077-978-1 record all-time, which is good for a .524 winning percentage ... Ball State is 714-310 all-time at home in Muncie as the Cardinals have won 69.7 percent of games at home.
BSU Picked Fifth In MAC West . . .
The Cardinals were tabbed to finish fifth in the Mid-American Conference West Division in the preseason poll .. Western Michigan was selected to capture the league's West Division title, picking up 122 points ... Eastern Michigan (122 points) was chosen second, followed by Central Michigan (79 points), Toledo (71 points), Ball State (55 points) and Northern Illinois (39 points).
Voting for the East Division saw Kent State come out on top, earning 122 points ... Miami was second with 109 points, followed by Bowling Green (70 points), Akron (67 points), Ohio (66 points) and Buffalo (35 points).
The Golden Flashes were also the favorite to win the 2009 MAC Tournament title, earning 11 votes, followed by Miami (7), Bowling Green (2) and Eastern Mich. (2).
Looking Ahead . . .
Ball State heads to Cleveland, Ohio, for the 2009 Mid-American Conference Tournament at the Quicken Loans Arena next week.
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