Men's Basketball Travels To Dayton Tuesday Night

January 04, 2010 | Men's Basketball

By: Ball State Athletics

What's On Tap . . .
The Cardinals open the 2010 calendar year on the road as they travel to Atlantic 10 power Dayton for a non-conference contest ... Ball State enters the game with a 6-5 overall record and have won three straight games to close out 2009 ... The Cardinals will be playing their first true road game since December 12 (at Tennessee Tech) ... Ball State is led by third-year head coach Billy Taylor ... Dayton enters Tuesday's game with a 10-3 overall record and received votes in the nation polls last week... The Flyers had an eight-game winning streak snapped last time out with a 68-66 lost at nationally ranked New Mexico ... Dayton is coached by seventh-year head coach Brian Gregory.

Tuesday's game will be broadcast on 104.1 WLBC FM with Morry Mannies and David Eha calling the game ... The game will be televise in Dayton on WHIO-TV ... Live stats will be available at www.daytonflyers.com.

Series History With Dayton . . .
Tuesday's game marks the sixth meeting all-time between Ball State and Dayton ... Dayton leads the all-time series by a 4-1 margin, including a 4-0 mark at home ... The Cardinals and Flyers last met December 17, 2002, with Dayton claiming an 80-65 victory at home ... Tuesday's game will only be the second meeting all-time between the two schools since 1958.

Last Time Out . . .
The Cardinals picked up their third straight win New Year's Eve as they down Manchester College 69-55 at Worthen Arena ... The victory was the Cardinals third straight, marking the first time since the 2004-05 season (Jan. 29-Feb. 3) ... Ball State handed out a season-high 18 assists in the victory and shot a season-best 69.2 percent (18-of-26) from the field in the first half ... Sophomore forward Jarrod Jones posted his third straight double-double and fourth double dip in his last five games in the victory ... Jones scored a season-high 20 points, while grabbing 10 rebounds as he connected on eight-of-13 from the field and four-of-five from the free throw line ... Junior forward Malik Perry added 11 points on four-of-six shooting while freshman Jauwan Scaife added eight points and five assists ... Sophomore guard Pierre Sneed chipped in seven points and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds.

Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters Tuesday's game with a 6-5 overall record after posting three straight victories over the holiday break ... The Cardinals are averaging 60.8 points per game this season while holding opponents to 61.4 points per game ... BSU has been strong on the glass this season as it is out-rebounding opponents by a 34.5-30.1 margin.

Sophomore forward Jarrod Jones leads the team in scoring at 15.1 and leads the team on the glass at 7.8 rebounds per game ... Jones has connected on 53.3 percent (65-of-122) from the field this season ... Freshman guard Jauwan Scaife is second on the team in scoring at 10.5 points per game ... Scaife leads the team from three-point land as he has connected on 44.1 percent (15-of-34) and leads the team from the free throw line at 87.1 percent (27-of-31).

Junior forward Malik Perry is third on the team in scoring at 9.7 points per game and is third in rebounding at 4.6 caroms per contest ... Perry leads the team in shooting from the field as he has connected on 65.5 percent (36-of-55) ... Senior forward Terrence Watson adds 7.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

Scouting The Flyers . . .
Dayton enters Tuesday's game with a 10-3 overall record ... The Flyers had an eight-game winning streak snapped with a two-point loss at nationally ranked New Mexico ... Dayton is averaging 70.1 points per game while allowing 63.5 points per game ... The Flyers are out-rebounding their opponents by a 35.5-32.3 margin this season.

Chris Wright leads the team in scoring at 14.3 points per game and on the glass at 7.2 rebounds per contest ... Wright is shooting 58.5 percent (69-of-118) from the field this season ... Chris Johnson is second on the team in scoring at 12.8 points per game while adding 6.2 boards per contest ... Johnson scored 21 points off of the bench against New Mexico as he was seven-of-13 from the field, including five three-pointers.

London Warren runs the Dayton offense as he has dished out a team-high 50 assists ... Marcus Johnson and Mickey Perry have also handed out 29 assists apiece as Dayton has tallied 195 assists this season (15.0 assists per game).

Three-Point Leaders . . .
Ball State enters Tuesday's game as the top three-point shooting team in the Mid-American Conference as the Cardinals are connecting on 38.5 percent (35-of-91) from long range ... The Cardinals have been efficient from three-point land as they only average 3.20 three-pointers per game, which is fewest in the MAC this season ... In fact, the Cardinals have attempted a MAC-low 91 three-pointers while Ohio leads the league in three-point attempts with 287 ... Earlier this season, Ball State also connected on 100 percent of is three-point shots against Maryland Eastern Shore as it went five-of-five from long range.

Media Exposure . . .
The Cardinals have already aired three non-conference games on the Ball State Sports Network (BSSN) and will have seven more games broadcast by BSSN the rest of the season ... The Cardinals will have upcoming games against Northern Illinois (1/9), at Eastern Michigan (1/23), at Ohio (1/31), at Kent State (2/10), against Central Michigan (2/17), at Toledo (2/27) and at Western Michigan (3/4) broadcast on BSSN ... For a list of affiliates for each game, go to www.ballstatesports.com.

New to the affiliate lineup this year for men's basketball is the addition of WTTV-4, beginning with the Butler game ... The addition of WTTV-4 as an affiliate of BSSN will allow BSU men's basketball to be broadcast statewide.

Also, the Cardinals will have two games broadcast on FSN Indiana as part of the Mid-American Conference package ... Ball State's Jan. 17 game at home against Toledo and its Feb. 6 game against Akron are slated to be aired on FSN Indiana.

Digital Guide Available Online . . .
The 2009-10 Ball State men's basketball digital guide is available online at www.ballstatesports.com by clicking the digital guide button on the left hand side ... The guide was produced by the BSU athletics media relations office and 180 Communications ... The digital guide will replace Ball State's traditional printed media guide.

Cardinals In MAC Stats . . .
Through the early part of the year, the Cardinals are sprinkled throughout the Mid-American Conference statistical leaders ... Sophomore forward Jarrod Jones is fourth in the MAC in scoring at 15.1 points per game ... Jones is also fifth in rebounding (7.8), fourth in field goal percentage (.533), sixth in blocked shots (1.0) and third in defensive rebounds (5.82) ... Freshman guard Jauwan Scaife is 22nd in the MAC in scoring at 10.5 points per game, which ranks fifth best among MAC freshmen ... Scaife is also second in free throw percentage (.871) and fifth in three-point percentage (.441).

Senior forward Terrence Watson is 12th in the MAC in rebounding at 5.4 boards per game ... Watson is also third in blocks (1.27) and eighth on the offensive glass (2.64) ... Junior forward Malik Perry leads the league in field goal percentage at 65.5 percent ... Perry is also 27th in scoring (9.7) and third in offensive rebounds (3.00) ... Sophomore guard Randy Davis is 10th in the MAC in assist/turnover ratio (1.19) and 12th in assists (3.09).

Home Sweet Home . . .
Thursday's game marked the 262nd game for the Cardinals in Worthen Arena (previously University Arena) since its opening January 15, 1992 ... Ball State owns a 191-71 record all-time in Worthen Arena, which is good for .728 winning percentage ... Last season, the Cardinals posted a 10-6 home record on the year, including a 6-2 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals have tallied five home victories so far this season with wins over Valparaiso, SIU Edwardsville, North Carolina Central, Maryland Eastern Shore and Manchester... During its history, Ball State has averaged just over 10 wins per season at Worthen Arena.

Muncie's Own . . .
Freshman guard Jauwan Scaife has posted a strong debut to his collegiate career ... Scaife, a Muncie native, scored in double figures in his first four games this season and eight out of his first 11 collegiate games ... He is second on the team in scoring at 10.5 points per game ... He scored 14 points against Valparaiso, 12 points against SIU Edwardsville, 10 points at Temple, 14 points against UC Davis, 14 points at Indiana State, 13 points at Tennessee Tech, 10 against No. 4 Purdue and 11 points against Maryland Eastern Shore.
Scaife is currently fifth in scoring in the Mid-American Conference among freshmen ... He only trails Toledo's Jack Barnett (14.1) and Stephen Albrecht (11.2) as well as Ohio's D.J. Cooper (12.8) and Jay Kinney (10.8) ... Last season, the Cardinals' Jarrod Jones was one of the MAC's top freshmen scorers at 11.2 points per game on his way to MAC Freshmen of the Year honors.

Hitting The Glass . . .
The Cardinals dominated the glass at Indiana State as they held a 35-22 advantage ... Ball State posted more defensive rebounds (27) than the Sycamores had total rebounds (22) ... The Cardinals accomplished the same feat against North Carolina Central as they out-rebounded the Eagles by a 37-23 margin ... BSU posted 25 defensive rebounds compared to just 23 total rebounds for North Carolina Central.

The Cardinals lead the Mid-American Conference in rebounding defense as they are limiting opponents to 30.1 boards per game ... BSU also leads the MAC in rebounding margin at +4.5 ... The Cardinals have three players averaging at least four rebounds per game in Terrence Watson (5.4), Jarrod Jones (7.8) and Malik Perry (4.6).

Jones Honored By MAC . . .
Sophomore forward Jarrod Jones has been named the Mid-American Conference West Division Co-Player of the Week (Dec. 28) ... This is Jones' second career MAC weekly honor and he joins Western Michigan's Alex Wolf as this week's West Division representatives.

Jones, the reigning MAC Freshman of the Year, led the Cardinals to a 59-45 victory over North Carolina Central as he posted his second double-double in the past three games ... He scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to record his fifth career double dip ... He led the Cardinals' second half surge as he scored 12 of his 16 points in the second frame, including a stretch of 10 straight points for BSU ... He connected on five-of-10 from the field and was six-of-eight from the free throw line, while also handing out a career-high three assists.

Road Victory . . .
Ball State picked up its first road victory of the season at Indiana State ... The victory is the Cardinals' first road win since January 10, 2009 at Eastern Michigan (46-42) ... The Cardinals only posted three road wins last year (at Milwaukee, IPFW and Eastern Michigan) ... Ball State's victory gave Indiana State its first home loss of the season and was just the 17th victory all-time for the Cardinals in Terre Haute in 64 meetings in program history.

Walk-On Impact . . .
The Cardinals have recently received a spark from one of its four walk-on players in freshman guard John Green ... Green, a native of Osceola, Ind., has played in eight out of the last nine games including 21 minutes against nationally ranked Butler and 14 minutes in the Cardinals' victory over Indiana State ... He scored three points and grabbed two rebounds while recording an assist, a steal and a blocked shot against Butler ... He followed that up with two points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal against the Sycamores ... Green scored a career-high seven points while playing a career-high 25 minutes at Tennessee Tech.

Green was a three-year letterwinner at Penn High School before spending one year at Naval Academy Prep.

Great Alaska Shootout . . .
The Cardinals will be part of the 2010 Great Alaska Shootout, which will be held November 24-27 on the campus of Alaska Anchorage ... Ball State will be joined in the eight-team field by host Alaska Anchorage, Arizona State, Drake, Houston Baptist, St. John's, Southeast Louisiana and Southern Utah ... The Cardinals will be making their second trip all-time to Alaska as they took part in the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks during the 2002-03 season in which they posted a 2-1 record.

Defensive Prowess . . .
The Cardinals lead the Mid-American Conference this season in scoring defense as they are holding opponents to 61.4 points per game ... Ball State has held three opponents under 50 points this season in SIU Edwardsville (47), North Carolina Central (45) and Maryland Eastern Shore (47) ... Senior forward Terrence Watson is third in the MAC this season in blocked shots as he is averaging 1.27 rejections per game while sophomore forward Jarrod Jones is fourth at 1.00 blocks per game.

Last season, the Cardinals limited opponents to just 59.7 points per game and only 57.2 points per game in conference play ... Ball State held 16 opponents under 60 points last year, including four teams under the 50-point mark

Welcome To Ball State . . .
The Cardinals had a pair of strong debuts in the season opener as senior forward Terrence Watson and freshman guard Jauwan Scaife each played well in their first career BSU games ... Watson, a transfer from Mississippi, fell just shy of a double-double with 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds ... He also recorded four blocked shots in 31 minutes of play.

Scaife, a Muncie native, scored 14 points in his collegiate debut in 30 minutes of action ... He connected on five-of-10 from the field and tallied a pair of three-pointers.

Offensive Outburst . . .
The Cardinals turned in a strong offensive performance in the season opener as they scored 88 points against Valparaiso ... The 88 point output is the largest for the Cardinals since the 2005-06 season when BSU scored 89 points in a victory over Eastern Michigan in overtime (March 4, 2006) ... It is the most points scored in a regulation games since the Cardinals scored 88 points against Western Michigan in the 2004-05 season (March 5, 2005).

A Cardinal Six-Pack . . .
Ball State had six different players in doubles figures in their season opening victory over Valparaiso ... Sophomore forward Jarrod Jones led the team in scoring with 19 points, junior Malik Perry had 17 points, freshman Jauwan Scaife had 14 points, senior Brawley Chisholm had 12 points, senior Terrence Watson had 11 points and sophomore guard Randy Davis added 11 points ... The six players in doubles figures were the most for the Cardinals since February 7, 1999 (vs. Bowling Green).

Preseason Honors . . .
Sophomore forward Jarrod Jones has recently been named to the CollegeInsider.com preseason Mid-Major All-America Team ... Jones is one of four players from the Mid-American Conference to be honored, joining Rodney Pierce (Buffalo), David Kool (Western Michigan) and Anthony Hitchens (Akron) ... Jones, a native of Michigan City, Ind., turned in one of the top freshmen seasons in Ball State history last year as he was third all-time among BSU freshmen in rebounding (227) and fourth all-time in freshmen scoring (346) ... He was named the MAC Freshman of the Year after leading the Cardinals in scoring at 11.2 points and rebounding at 7.2 boards per game.

Cardinals Sign Two . . .
Head coach Billy Taylor announced the signing of Matt Kamieniecki (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) and Marvin Jordan (Peoria, Ill./Manual) to national letters of intent during the early signing period ... Kamieniecki and Jordan will begin their Ball State careers during the 2010-2011 season.

Kamieniecki, a 6-7 forward, is a standout at Clarkston High School ... He averaged 13.0 points and nine rebounds last season while leading the Wolves to a 24-2 overall record ... His play helped Clarkston to a state semifinal appearance in Class A as he averaged 15.3 points per game in the postseason ... As a sophomore, he guided Clarkston to a state quarterfinals appearance and a 13-2 record ... Highlighting his postseason run was a 22-point, 13-rebound effort in the quarterfinals against eventual state champion Saginaw.

Jordan, a 5-11 point guard, stars at Peoria Manual High School ... He is a two-time Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Honorable Mention All-State recipient and has led Manual to a 48-16 record in two seasons as a starting point guard ... He led his team to back-to-back conference and sectional championships as well as a berth in the 2008 2A State Championship game ... He averaged 11 points per game as a junior and dished out four assists per game ... He was rated No. 25 overall in the Class of 2010 by Windycitybasketball.com and was tabbed as one of the top 25 Illinois recruits in 2010 by Scout.com.

89th Season Underway . . .
Ball State is in its 89th season in program history ... The Cardinals have posted a 1083-984-1 record all-time, which is good for a .524 winning percentage ... Ball State is 720-311 all-time at home in Muncie as the Cardinals have won 69.8 percent of games at home.

This year's opener marked the 89th season opener in program history and the Cardinals are 52-37 all-time in openers ... Ball State is 40-9 all-time when it opens the year at home in Muncie

MAC Honors For Jones . . .
Sophomore forward Jarrod Jones was named preseason All-Mid-American Conference West Division as voted on by the MAC News Media Association ... Jones, a native of Michigan City, Ind., turned in one of the top freshmen seasons in Ball State history last year as he was third all-time among BSU freshmen in rebounding (227) and fourth all-time in freshmen scoring (346) ... He was named the MAC Freshman of the Year after leading the Cardinals in scoring at 11.2 points and rebounding at 7.2 boards per game.

Jones, an Honorable Mention All-MAC selection last year, started 30 of 31 games while scoring in double figures 18 times. He burst onto the scene with a 21-point, 13-rebound effort in his collegiate debut, marking the first of his three double-doubles on the year.

BSU Picked Fourth In West . . .
The Cardinals were tabbed to finish fourth in the Mid-American Conference West Division in the preseason poll and were one of five MAC West Division team to earn first place votes ... Central Michigan was selected to capture the league's West Division title, picking up 113 points in the very balanced division ... Northern Illinois (102 points) was chosen second, followed by Eastern Michigan (94 points). Western Michigan (79) and Toledo (29) round out the West Division poll.

Voting for the East Division saw defending MAC Tournament champion Akron come out on top, earning 190 points ... Kent State was second with 108 points, followed by Buffalo (97 points), Miami (78 points), Bowling Green (54 points) and Ohio (32 points).

The Zips were also the favorite to win the 2009 MAC Tournament title, earning 19 votes, followed Buffalo (2), Northern Illinois (1), Kent State (1) and Bowling Green (1).

Seven New Faces . . .
The Cardinals added seven newcomers to the team this season, five of which will be eligible to play this year ... Leading the charge for Ball State is freshman guard Jauwan Scaife, freshman forward Myron Green Jr., freshman guard John Green, freshman guard Zach Harrison and freshman forward Will Hauser ... Sophomore forward Franklin Henderson and junior guard Dusty Mills will sit out the season after transferring.