Ball State University
Northern Illinois
Second Half Performance Leads Men's Hoops To Road Win
February 14, 2010 | Men's Basketball
DEKALB, Ill. - The Ball State men's basketball team rallied for a 71-66 Mid-American Conference victory over Northern Illinois Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center. The victory raised the Cardinals' record to 13-11 overall and 7-5 in MAC play to keep Ball State in first place in the MAC West Division.
"Both teams played great basketball down the stretch," head coach Billy Taylor said. "We can tell we are back in the MAC West as these games are hotly contested. We made a lot of plays down the stretch, whether it was our guards Randy (Davis), Jauwan (Scaife) or Pierre (Sneed), or our posts but Northern Illinois responded each time with a big play. I am proud of our guys being able to find a way to win on the road in a game that had a lot of importance in MAC play."
Sophomore guard Randy Davis (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth) led three Cardinals in double figures as he scored a team-high 20 points, including 15 points in the second half as BSU out-scored the Huskies 46-39 in the second half. Davis hit 7-of-12 from the field, including 5-of-6 in the second half, while hitting three three-pointers and grabbing seven rebounds.
Sophomore forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) added 16 points and seven rebounds in the victory. Jones hit 7-of-16 from the field and 2-of-3 from the free throw line as the Cardinals scored 28 points in the paint.
Northern Illinois (8-16, 4-8 MAC) came out of the gate quickly as the Huskies opened on a 7-2 lead as Mike DiNunno hit a three-pointer. The Huskies took a 15-8 lead as Xavier Silas started to heat up as he scored eight straight points to give NIU a seven point lead.
Ball State regrouped and posted an 11-4 run to tie the game at 19-19 with just over seven minutes left in the opening half. Davis and freshman guard Jauwan Scaife (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) both hit three-pointers to highlight the run. The teams went back and forth the final seven minutes of the half with the Cardinals taking a 25-24 lead as Davis scored off a drive with 2:06 remaining. NIU scored the final three points of the half to take a 27-25 lead into the break.
Ball State connected on 30 percent (9-of-30) from the field and 25 percent (2-of-8) from three-point land in the first half. Jones led the Cardinals' attack with 10 first half points while also grabbing five rebounds. Davis chipped in five points and five rebounds in the opening frame.
Northern Illinois finished the first half shooting 33.3 percent (9-of-27) from the field and just 16.7 percent (2-of-12) from three-point land. Silas led all first half scorers with 16 points as he was 4-of-6 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
Ball State came out of the halftime break and continued to pound the ball inside as senior forward Terrence Watson (Detroit, Mich./Univ. of Mississippi) scored the first six points of the half, including two offensive tip-ins on rebounds. The Cardinals took the lead with an 8-1 run midway through the half as they opened to a 44-39 advantage with 11:20 left in the game. Scaife scored four points in the stretch, including a layup to give the Cardinals the lead.
Ball State extended the lead to 56-51 with 5:48 left in the half as Jones nailed a turnaround jumper. Northern Illinois responded with six straight points to take the lead back at 57-56 as Sean Kowal scored four straight and Silas hit a jump shot.
Davis responded with a three-pointer to put BSU back in front but the Huskies nailed another jumper to tie the game once again. The Cardinals and Huskies traded baskets back-and-forth before Davis put BSU in front 64-62 with an old-fashioned three-point play.
Silas tied the game for the eighth time as he hit two straight free throws with 1:27 left in regulation. Davis once again came through on the ensuing possession as he drew a foul on a drive and nailed both free throws to put Ball State ahead for good 66-64. Northern Illinois' Darion Anderson missed two free throws on the next possession to force NIU into fouling the Cardinals. Scaife hit one free throw to put BSU ahead by three.
The Ball State defense stood tall on the following possession as it forced a long three-pointer from DiNunno. The Huskies were able to grab the offensive rebound but sophomore guard Pierre Sneed (Chicago, Ill./Simeon) came through with a steal to seal the victory. Sneed hit both free throws with 12 seconds left in the game to make it a two-possession contest and senior Brawley Chisholm (Bronx, N.Y./Western Texas College) added two more free throws to cap the scoring. The Cardinals hit 11-of-14 (78.6 percent) from the free throw line in the second half, including seven of its final eight.
Ball State finished the game shooting 43.9 percent (25-of57) from the field after connecting on 59.3 percent (16-of-27) in the second half. The Cardinals hit all three three-pointers in the second half and finished shooting 45.5 percent (5-of-11) from long range. Ball State out-rebounded the Huskies by a 41-36 margin in the victory.
Sneed added 11 points to round out the Cardinals' double figure scorers as he hit 4-of-10 from the field, including his first three-pointer of the season. Watson added eight points, all in the second half, while Scaife chipped in eight points and four rebounds.
Northern Illinois connected on 39.3 percent (24-of-61) from the field and 35.0 percent (7-of-20) from three-point land. The Huskies hit 64.7 percent (11-of-17) from the free throw line but struggled in the second half as they hit just 44.4 percent (4-of-9). Silas led all scorers as he scored 30 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line while grabbing career-high 10 rebounds.
The Cardinals return home Wednesday night for a MAC West Division battle with the Central Michigan Chippewas. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Worthen Arena.
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