Ball State University Athletics
Men's Hoops Battles Top-Seeded Kent State Friday
March 11, 2011 | Men's Basketball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State advanced to its 20th semifinal appearance all-time in the Mid-American Conference Tournament Friday evening after the fourth-seeded Cardinals knocked off defending MAC Tournament Champion and fifth-seeded Ohio 76-73 in overtime Thursday night ... The Cardinals rallied from a nine-point deficit in the final 2:42 of regulation to force overtime ... The victory improved the Cardinals to 19-12 on the year with the victory.
Ball State will face top-seeded and MAC Regular Season Champion Kent State Friday night in the second semifinal ... Game time is set fro 9:30 p.m. at Quicken Loans Arena ... The Golden Flashes own a 22-10 overall record on the year ... The game will be broadcast on Sports Time Ohio, Comcast Indiana, ESPN Full Court and ESPN3.com.
MAC Tournament History . . .
Ball State is making its 30th appearance all-time in the Mid-American Conference Tournament this season ... The Cardinals are tied with Miami and Eastern Michigan for the most MAC Tournament appearances ... Ball State is 37-23 all-time in MAC Tournament history, with its 37 victories the most of any team in league history ... The Cardinals have advanced to the MAC Tournament Semifinals 20 times in program history and have made the MAC Tournament Final nine times ... Ball State owns the most MAC Tournament Championships with seven, including titles in 1981, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995 and 2000.
Ball State and Kent State have met four times in MAC Tournament history with the Cardinals holding a 3-1 record against the Golden Flashes ... The two teams have not met in MAC Tournament play since 2001 when Kent State claimed a 67-55 victory in the semifinals ... Ball State posted wins over the Golden Flashes in tournament play in 1993 (Quarterfinals), 1989 (Finals) and 1980 (Quarterfinals).
Series History Vs. Kent State . . .
Friday's contest marks the 74th meeting all-time between Ball State and Kent State ... The Cardinals hold a 38-35 advantage in the series but Kent State has won six straight in the series ... Ball State last defeated the Golden Flashes Jan. 2, 2005 with a 76-67 victory in Worthen Arena.
Earlier this year, Kent State posted a 66-53 victory over the Cardinals in Worthen Arena (Jan. 27) ... Four different Cardinals scored in double figures in the loss with Senior Malik Perry and freshman Chris Bond leading the way with 12 points apiece ... Junior Randy Davis and sophomore Jauwan Scaife each tallied 10 points in the loss while Davis also handed out seven assists ... Kent State was led by Randal Holt who scored 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field ... Rodriquez Sherman chipped in 15 points while Justin Greene posted 12 points and nine rebounds.
Cardinals All-Time In Cleveland . . .
The 2011 Mid-American Conference Tournament is in its 12th season in Cleveland, Ohio at the Quicken Loans Arena ... Ball State is advancing to Cleveland for the ninth time in tournament history ... The Cardinals own a 7-6 record all-time in the Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena (formerly Gund Arena) ... Ball State won the first ever MAC Tournament in Cleveland, sweeping three games in 2000 to claim the title ... The Cardinals have also posted wins in 2001, 2002 and 2009 in Cleveland.
Quarterfinal Recap . . .
Ball State advanced to the Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinals with a thrilling 76-73 overtime victory over Ohio Thursday night ... The Cardinals closed out the final 2:42 of the second half on a 9-0 run to force overtime ... Freshman forward Chris Bond posted two old-fashioned three-point plays in the run while junior guard Randy Davis added a three-pointer to help the Cardinals overcome the nine-point deficit.
Freshman guard Jesse Berry scored a career-high 20 points in the victory as he was 5-of-9 from the field with four three-pointers while also hitting 6-of-8 from the free throw line ... Bond chipped in 12 points and five rebounds off the bench ... Davis added 11 points, a career-high nine rebounds and five assists while junior forward Jarrod Jones posted nine points and eight rebounds.
19 Wins & Counting . . .
Ball State enters Friday's contest with an 19-12 overall record marking the Cardinals' first season of at least 15 wins since posting a 23-12 record in 2001-02 ... The Cardinals are also guaranteed of their first winning record since the 2004-05 season (15-14) ... Ball State has now posted three straight seasons of at least 14 wins and the two straight years reaching 15 wins (15-15 in 2009-10) ... The Cardinals' 19 wins are 12th all-time in program history.
