Ball State University
8-4
SIU Edwardsville
4-13
Men's Hoops Posts 76-46 Victory Over SIU Edwardsville
January 03, 2011 | Men's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. - The men's basketball team improved to 8-4 on the season Monday night as the Cardinals downed SIU Edwardsville 76-46 at Worthen Arena. The Cardinals shot 50 percent (24-of-48) from the field and scored 40 points in the paint to improve to 5-0 this season at home.
"Tonight's game was a workman-like effort for our team," head coach Billy Taylor said. "We have played SIUE a couple of times in the past two years and they are always very well prepared. The game ended up being a half-court grinder and our defensive effort was tremendous. We were very active on defense which allowed us to get out in transition and open the floor offensively."
Junior forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) posted his sixth double-double of the season and 16th of his career in the victory as he scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. Jones connected on 9-of-11 from the field, while also handing out three assists and notching both a block and a steal.
Ball State opened the game on a 7-0 run over the first two-plus minutes as senior forward Malik Perry (Philadelphia, Pa./Philadelphia Lutheran) scored four early points. The Cardinals extended their lead to 19-6 with a 10-2 run as Jones scored six points and freshman forward Chris Bond (Gary, Ind./Bowman Academy) added a basket in the paint.
After the Cardinals ran the lead to 28-10 on a Jesse Berry (Lafayette, Ind./Jefferson) three-pointer, SIU Edwardsville posted an 8-3 run just before half to narrow the gap to 31-18. The Cardinals connected on 48.0 percent (12-of-25) from the field in the opening half as they scored 20 of their 31 points in the paint.
Perry and Jones led the Cardinals with eight points each in the half while Berry chipped in seven. Ball State dished out nine assists on its 12 first half field goals with Jones handing out three helpers. The Cougars were held to just 26.9 percent (7-of-26) shooting from the field and missed all eight of their three-pointers. Nikola Bundalo led SIUE with six points and four rebounds in the opening frame.
The two teams battled back-and-forth for the first 10 minutes of the second half as the Cardinals could not pull away from the Cougars. SIUE narrowed the gap to 51-39 with 8:27 left in the game but Ball State finally broke the game open by controlling play on both ends of the floor. The Cardinals closed the contest on a 25-7 run to roll to the 30-point victory.
Ball State forced SIU Edwardsville into eight turnovers in the final 8:27 of the game and limited it to just three field goals. Junior guard Randy Davis (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth) scored nine points in the closing stretch, including hitting seven straight at the free throw line. Berry scored six points in the run while Jones added five points, including an old-fashioned three-point play.
Ball State finished the game shooting 50 percent (24-of-48) from the field and hit 70.3 percent (26-of-37) from the free throw line. The Cardinals handed out 17 assists on their 24 field goals, with Davis leading the way with six. The BSU post players tallied seven assists on the night as they worked through SIUE double teams.
The Cardinals limited SIU Edwardsville to just 34.6 percent (18-of-52) shooting from the field and held the Cougars to just 3-of-16 (18.8%) from three-point land. Ball State forced the Cougars into 24 turnovers as it tallied 13 steals. The Cardinals turned those miscues into 25 points off of turnovers in the victory.
Berry finished the night with 18 points in his return to the starting lineup. He connected on 5-of-11 from the field and 6-of-8 from the free throw line. Perry ended the game with 11 points, two assists, two blocks and two steals in 26 minutes of action as he was 4-of-4 form the field and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. Davis added 10 points, six assists and four steals in the Cardinals' victory.
SIUE was led by Cory Wickware who scored a team-high 10 points off the bench. Michael Messer added nine points and Bundalo finished the game with eight points and nine rebounds.
The Cardinals open the Mid-American Conference season Saturday afternoon as they travel to DeKalb, Ill., for a meeting with the Northern Illinois Huskies. Game time is set for 4 p.m. (ET).
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