Ball State University
3-2
Texas Southern
1-5
Men's Basketball Rolls Past Texas Southern, 64-53
November 29, 2011 | Men's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State men's basketball team picked up its third straight victory Tuesday evening as the Cardinals posted a 64-53 victory over visiting Texas Southern at Worthen Arena. The Cardinals led by as many as 24 points in the contest as three different players scored in double figures for BSU to improve to 3-2 on the year.
"I thought tonight was all about our defense as it really stood strong for us," fifth-year head coach Billy Taylor said. "Our half-court defense was strong throughout the game as we made them work on each position and our rebounding effort was great tonight against a really long team. There were a lot of positives that we can take from tonight's win."
Senior forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) paced the attack as he recorded his second straight double-double and 23rd of his career with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Jones connected on 5-of-8 from the field and hit all four free throws in 32 minutes of play. Sophomore guard Jesse Berry (Lafayette, Ind./Jefferson) gave the Cardinals an offensive lift off the bench as he tied for team-high honors with 14 points, including three three-pointers in 24 minutes.
Senior point guard Randy Davis (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth) continued his strong start to the season as he fell just shy of a double-double with 13 points and a game-high nine assists. Davis leads the team and the MAC averaging 7.8 assists per game this season while posting a 3.9 assist/turnover ratio through the first five games.
Ball State came out of the gate and jumped on Texas Southern early as it posted a 20-2 run, including 12 straight at one point to open to a 22-7 lead with just under eight minutes into the game. Sophomore forward Chris Bond (Gary, Ind./Bowman Academy) started the spurt as he scored six straight points as the Cardinals got out on the fast break. Berry kicked the Cardinals into overdrive as he scored eight points in a span of 1:22 to force the Tigers into a timeout.
Texas Southern went to the full court press and posted a 9-2 run to narrow the gap to 29-21 as BSU took a timeout with 5:33 left in the opening frame. The Cardinals regrouped and posted a 9-2 run of their own as Davis scored five straight, including a three-pointer in the corner off an offensive rebounds.
Ball State went into the locker room with a 38-27 halftime lead as it connected on 44.8 percent (13-of-29) from the field and 36.4 percent (4-of-11) from long range. The Cardinals out-rebounded the Tigers by a 24-15 margin in the first half but committed 11 turnovers. Berry led all first half scorers with 10 points off the bench while Bond added seven points.
Texas Southern connected on 37.0 percent (10-of-27) from the field and 22.2 percent (2-of-9) from three-point land in the first half. The Tigers were led by Dexter Ellington who scored eight points while Madarious Gibbs added five off the bench.
Ball State ended any doubt coming out of the break as it scored the first 12 points of the second half to post a 50-27 lead before the first media timeout. Davis ignited the run as he scored the first five points of the second half while Jones posted six points in the stretch to extend the lead past the 20-point barrier.
Texas Southern turned up the full court pressure and started to hit some outside shots to chip away at the Cardinals' lead. The Tigers narrowed the gap down the stretch to 11 points, but the Cardinals kept them at bay as the game was never in doubt in the second half.
Ball State connected on 40 percent (20-of-50) from the field and 30.4 percent (7-of-23) from long range in the victory. The Cardinals dominated the glass as they posted a 40-28 advantage, including 18 offensive rebounds.
Ball State scored 19 second chance points in the victory as Bond posted eight points and seven rebounds. Freshman forward Aaron Adeoye (Marion, Ill./Marion) added six points and four rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench in the victory.
Texas Southern finished the game shooting 37.5 percent (18-of-48) from the field and 30 percent (6-of-20) from long range. Omar Strong led the Tigers with 19 points off the bench, including 14 in the second half as he hit five three-pointers late in the game.
Ball State hits the road for two straight games beginning Saturday afternoon as it travels to Tennessee-Martin in a return game from the ESPNU BracketBusters event. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. (ET).
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