Ball State University
Mount St. Joseph
Men's Hoops Tops Mount St. Joseph, 95-43
December 21, 2010 | Men's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State men's basketball team picked up its largest victory of the season Tuesday night as the Cardinals rolled past Mount St. Joseph 95-43 at Worthen Arena to run its winning streak to three straight. The victory is the Cardinals' largest since December 8, 2004 when they defeated Anderson 106-53 while the 95 points scored are the most since scoring 96 against Eastern Michigan in 2005 (1/31/05).
"Tonight was a good all-around performance," head coach Billy Taylor said. "We came out physical and aggressive on the defensive end early, which set the tone for the game. We played unselfish basketball and got out in transition throughout the night. We also received contributions up and down the lineup as everyone stepped up."
Ball State (6-3) had five different players score in double figures and 11 different Cardinals found their way onto the box score in the 52-point victory. Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife (Muncie, Ind./Central) was tied for the team lead with 15 points as was 3-of-7 from three-point land and hit all four free throws. Junior guard Pierre Sneed (Chicago, Ill./Simeon) scored a career-high 15 points off the bench as he was 7-of-8 from the field in 18 minutes of action.
Ball State opened the game quickly as it scored the first 10 points of the night on its way to a 17-2 lead just over seven minutes into the game. The Cardinals were aggressive from the start as they went to the foul line and hit their first eight free throws. Scaife scored six early points as six different Cardinals scored in the opening run.
The Cardinals led by as many as 30 points in the first half before heading into the locker room with a 43-18 lead. Ball State connected on 52.0 percent (13-of-25) from the field and hit 70 percent (14-of-20) from the free throw line. Scaife led all first half scorers with nine points while junior guard Randy Davis (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth) handed out six assists in the opening frame.
The Cardinals limited Mount St. Joseph to just 25.9 percent (7-of-27) shooting from the field and just 14.3 percent (2-of-14) from three-point land. The Cardinals forced the Lions into nine turnovers and turned those miscues into 12 points. The Lions were led by Alex Cole who scored six points on the strength of two three-pointers.
Ball State came out of the halftime break and once again controlled play as it scored the first 10 points of the second half to extend the lead to 53-18. Scaife was the catalyst out of the break as he hit back-to-back three-pointers to force Mount St. Joseph into a timeout.
The Cardinals kept adding to the lead as it ran off a 16-2 run and a 9-1 run down the stretch of the second half to close out the victory. Sneed scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half, including a stretch of six straight points in a 40 second span that was sparked on the defensive end. Ball State capped the scoring as guard Adrian Tucker (New Castle, Ind./New Castle) scored his first career points to raise the Cardinals' total to 95 points.
Ball State finished the game shooting 59.3 percent (32-of-54) from the field and 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from three-point land. The Cardinals were strong from the charity stripe as well as they hit 75 percent (24-of-32).
Junior forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) added 15 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes of action. Jones was 4-of-5 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line in the victory. Senior forward Malik Perry (Philadelphia, Pa./Philadelphia Lutheran) added 13 points and nine rebounds in 22 minutes of play as the Cardinals out-scored the Lions 46-20 in the paint.
Davis continued his strong play running the offense as he fell just short of his second career double-double. He scored 14 points and dished out a team-high nine assists as the Cardinals posted 20 assists as a team. He was 4-of-7 from the field, including three three-pointers, while also grabbing four rebounds. Freshman Chris Bond (Gary, Ind./Bowman Academy) added a career-high nine rebounds, five points, three assists, two steals and two blocks off the bench.
Mount St. Joseph was held to just 24.6 percent (14-of-57) shooting from the field and just 10.7 percent (3-of-28) shooting from three-point land. The Cardinals forced 16 turnovers and turned those miscues into 22 points, 18 of which came on the fast break. Cole led the Lions with 12 points as he was the only MSJ player in double figures.
Ball State returns to action December 28 as it travels to instate rival Valparaiso. Tip-off is set for 8:05 p.m. (CT).
####
