Ball State University Athletics
Men's Hoops Battles Past Victoria Select, 88-82
August 14, 2011 | Men's Basketball
VICTORIA, British Columbia, Canada - The Ball State men's basketball team turned in a hard-fought victory Saturday evening as the Cardinals downed Victoria Select 88-82, to win their third game of a four-game Canadian tour. Four different Cardinals scored in double figures, including a double-double by senior forward Jarrod Jones (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City).
Jones scored a team-high 23 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and posted a game-high five blocked shots in 27 minutes of action. He connected on 9-of-15 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the victory. Sophomore Chris Bond (Gary, Ind./Bowman Academy) fell just shy of a double-double as he scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Sophomore guard Jesse Berry (Lafayette, Ind./Jefferson) provided the Cardinals' offense in the second half as he scored 13 points off the bench, while constantly attacking the basket. Berry only hit three field goals but finished 7-of-10 from the charity stripe. Junior guard Jauwan Scaife (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) continued his strong play as he scored 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including three three-pointers.
Ball State and Victoria battled back and forth for most of the first quarter with a 12-12 tied with under three minutes left in the opening period. Bond and Jones added back-to-back baskets giving the Cardinals a four-point cushion. The Cardinals maintained the four-point lead after the first quarter with an 18-14 lead.
Victoria narrowed the Cardinals' lead down to one at 23-22 with 7:21 left in the second quarter before Ball State answered with a 13-3 run to take its largest lead of the half at 36-25. Jones was the offensive catalyst in the spurt as he scored nine of the Cardinals' 13 points, including converting an old-fashioned three-point play.
Ball State went into the locker room at halftime with a 41-34 lead. The Cardinals connected on 40.5 percent (15-of-37) from the field but hit just 18.2 percent (2-of-11) from three-point land. Jones and Scaife led the team in the first half with 13 points each. Jones also added seven rebounds while sophomore Matt Kamieniecki (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) grabbed eight boards in the opening half.
Victoria connected on 33.3 percent (11-of-33) from the field in the first half and just 22.2 percent (2-of-9) from long range. Victoria was strong from the charity stripe as it hit 10-of-13 (76.9%) and took advantage of 11 BSU turnovers. Michael Acheampong led Victoria with 10 points while Greg Wallis chipped in nine.
The Cardinals came out in the third quarter and pushed their lead to nine at 51-42 with just over six minutes left in the quarter as Kamieniecki scored on an offensive put back. Victoria responded with 11-1 run to take its first lead since the first quarter. Mike Hull nailed a three-pointer in the run and Ryan Erickson scored on back-to-back possessions.
Ball State showed its mettle as it battled back with an 11-3 run to take the lead back at 65-58. Berry provided the spark off the bench as he hit 5-of-6 free throws during the stretch while continually attacked the basket.
Victoria did not back down in the fourth quarter as it narrowed the BSU lead down to two at 74-72 with 5:24 left in the contest. The Cardinals had one final push down the stretch as they turned in a 9-2 run to take an 83-74 lead with 2:32 left in the game.
Berry again took the lead as he scored five points final run while Jones and senior Randy Davis (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth) scored on the fast break. Kamieniecki put the Cardinals in front 87-76 with an offensive rebound before Victoria hit a pair of late three-pointers by Ryan MacKinnon to move the final margin of victory to 88-82.
Ball State finished the game shooting 46.5 percent (33-of-71) from the field but only 20 percent (3-of-15) from three-point land. The Cardinals dominated play on the glass as they held a 52-34 rebounding advantage and scored 20 second chance points. Kamieniecki tied Jones for the game-high on the glass as he grabbed 13 rebounds, while freshman Aaron Adeoye (Marion, Ill./Marion) grabbed seven rebounds.
Victoria ended the night shooting 42.7 percent (32-of-75) from the field and 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from long range. Victoria also hit 11-of-14 from the free throw line (78.6%) and forced the Cardinals into 17 turnovers. MacKinnon led all scorers with 27 points as he was 9-of-18 from the field, including four three-pointers.
Ball State will conclude its four-game Canadian trip Sunday afternoon as it plays its third game in as many days. The Cardinals will travel up to Nanaimo, British Columbia, to take on Vancouver Island University at 2 p.m.
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