Persons, Teague Lead MBB Past UIndy in Exhibition

MUNCIE, Ind. -- Tahjai Teague and Tayler Persons posted double-doubles in their debuts for the Ball State men's basketball team Thursday night as the Cardinals defeated UIndy 74-64 in exhibition action at Worthen Arena.

Teague went for 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Persons ran the Ball State offense with 13 points and 10 assists. Both players sat out last season, Teague as a redshirt and Persons as a transfer.

Sean Sellers (13 points) and Trey Moses (11) also scored in double figures for a balanced Cardinals attack that saw seven players score at least six points.

It was a hard-fought contest against a UIndy team that has been to six consecutive NCAA Division II tournaments. The Cardinals led by only three in the final minutes before stretching it to a 10-point margin at the end.

"I thought it was a great test for us; we needed it," Ball State coach James Whitford said. "I'm thankful we got a chance to play them. We will learn a lot from this game. When you play good teams, you have a much better sense of what you do well and what you don't do well. That's why we wanted to play the game."

Ball State started slowly as UIndy jumped out to a 15-2 lead three minutes into the game. But the Cardinals made adjustments and began chipping away. Persons had eight of his points and six of his assists in the first half, bringing Ball State back to even the score at 37 at halftime.

"Tayler was great, especially in the first half when we weren't playing very well," Whitford said. "We were in that game solely because of him."

Ball State had an uncharacteristic shooting night, hitting just 5 of 24 from 3-point range. That promises to be a rare event for a team that shot 37 percent from deep last year and returns its top three outside shooting threats.

With shots not falling, Ball State was able to grind one out. The Cardinals trailed only once in the second half but never led by more than five until the final three minutes. A pair of dunks from Teague bookended a 10-3 run to close the game.

Ball State played all but seven minutes without preseason all-conference selection Franko House who got banged up early and was kept out as a precautionary measure. With House sidelined and Francis Kiapway in foul trouble, the Cardinals' rotation became a short one.

"We didn't defend near to the level we need to," Whitford said. "We had a lot of guys out there tired. When we got tired, we had a lot of defensive breakdowns."

UIndy big man Jesse Kempson led his team with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Eric Davidson (13 points) and Jimmy King (11) also scored in double figures.

For Ball State, two other players made their debuts. Freshman Kyle Mallers scored six points in 18 minutes, while graduate transfer DouDou Gueye had two blocks and two rebounds. The Cardinals had 10 blocks as a team, led by Teague with three.

Ball State now turns its attention to the regular season opener. The Cardinals will tip off the 2016 season Friday, Nov. 11 at Saint Louis as part of the MGM Grand Main Event.

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Players Mentioned

DouDou Gueye

Franko House

Francis Kiapway

Kyle Mallers

Trey Moses

Tayler Persons

Sean Sellers

Tahjai Teague