Ball State University
9-4, 1-0MAC
Northern Illinois
4-9, 0-1MAC
Men's Hoops Opens MAC Play With Victory At NIU
January 08, 2011 | Men's Basketball
DEKALB, Ill. - The Ball State men's basketball team opened the 2011 Mid-American Conference season Saturday afternoon with a hard fought 75-70 victory over Northern Illinois at the Convocation Center. The win runs the Cardinals' winning streak to three straight games and moves them to 9-4 on the season and 1-0 in league play.
"Conference games are always significant challenges, especially on the road," head coach Billy Taylor said. "Our guys showed a lot of heart and fight today. We got ourselves into a jam late in the game but we found a way to win. We had players up and down our lineup step and gave great contributions in crucial moments."
Junior forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) led the Cardinals to victory as he posted his seventh double-double of the season and 17th of his career. Jones tied his career-high with 25 points in the victory while also grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds. He connected on 10-of-18 from the field and 5-of-8 from the free throw line. He has now scored 25 points in two out of his last three games.
Ball State and Northern Illinois battled early on in the contest with the Cardinals taking a 15-14 lead just over nine minutes into the game. The Cardinals found some breathing room as they scored seven straight points to take a 22-14 lead.
Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) scored five points in the run off the bench, including a three-pointer from the wing after NIU went to a zone. Freshman forward Chris Bond (Gary, Ind./Bowman Academy) capped the run as he converted an alley-oop pass from junior guard Randy Davis (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth) giving the Cardinals an eight-point lead.
Northern Illinois responded with four straight points to narrow the gap to four as Xavier Silas and Jeremy Landers scored on back-to-back possessions. Ball State weathered the spurt and closed the final eight minutes on a 14-5 run to take a 34-23 lead heading into the locker room. Jones ignited the run as he scored nine points, including a fast break reverse dunk with 49.0 seconds left in the opening frame.
Ball State finished the half shooting 40 percent (14-of-35) from the field and hit 3-of-8 (37.5%) from three-point land. The Cardinals controlled play in the paint as they out-rebounded NIU 22-16 in the half, including nine offensive rebounds. Jones was the highlight of the first half as he nearly posted a double-double as he scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds. He was 6-of-9 from the field and hit both two free throws in the opening frame.
Northern Illinois connected on 37.0 percent (10-of-27) from the field and 33.3 percent (3-of-9) from long range. Tim Toller led the Huskies with nine points in the first half while Silas was held to four points as he recorded two first half fouls.
Northern Illinois (4-9, 0-1 MAC) opened the second half on an 8-2 run to narrow the gap to 36-31. The Cardinals weathered the run and extended the lead back to double figures at 49-39 with 11:55 left in the half.
The Huskies kept battling back and pulled within two points at 66-64 with a 7-2 spurt. The Cardinals needed a basket on the ensuing possession to stem the NIU tide. Bond stepped up with a big play as he jumped on a loose ball after a scrum and scored over Toler in the paint to put BSU in front 68-64.
After the teams traded baskets, the Cardinals took a 71-66 lead as Davis hit one of two free throws. The Ball State defense stepped up with a stop on the next play but the offensive rebound came out to Toler who nailed a three-pointer to pull the lead down to 71-69.
Northern Illinois was able to get a turnover from the Cardinals to get the ball back with 23 seconds left in the game as Scaife was called for an offensive foul. Ball State fouled Rucker on the following possession and he hit just one of two free throws to make it a 71-70 game. Davis was quickly fouled and calmly hit two free throws to extend the lead back to 73-70. The Cardinals forced Silas into a long three-pointer which was short. Jones soared for the rebound and hit two free throws to seal the Cardinals' victory.
Ball State finished the game shooting 45.0 percent (27-of-60) from the field and 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from long range. The Cardinals were strong from the free throw line as they nailed 76.2 percent (16-of-21) and controlled the glass with a 42-35 advantage.
Scaife came off the bench for the first time this season and scored 17 points in 28 minutes of action. He hit 6-of-12 from the field, including three three-pointers in the victory. Bond ended the game with 10 points as he was 5-of-8 shooting from the field while Davis chipped in eight points, five assists and four rebounds.
Northern Illinois ended the afternoon shooting 41.9 percent (26-of-62) from the field and 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from long range. The Huskies entered the game as the league's top free throw shooting team (73.7), but hit just 55.6 percent (55.6%) in the loss.
Toler led the Huskies with 22 points as he was 9-of-14 from the field and hit 4-of-6 from three-point land. Silas ended the game with 15 points as he was held to 6-of-16 shooting from the field and only went to the free throw line twice.
The Cardinals open the home portion of the MAC schedule Wednesday evening as they host divisional rival Western Michigan. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. at Worthen Arena and will be televised on SportsTime Ohio.
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