Ball State University Athletics
Saturday, December 3
Muncie, Ind.
2:00 PM ET
Ball State University
4-4
62
vs
73
IUPUI
3-5
1
2
F
IUPUI
29
44
73
Ball State
36
26
62
Photo by: Jimmy Mitchell
IUPUI Comes from Behind to Top Men’s Hoops
December 03, 2016 | Men's Basketball
Trey Moses records a double-double for the Cardinals
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Ball State men's basketball team went cold in the second half Saturday as IUPUI came from 11 points down to earn a 73-62 win at Worthen Arena.
The Cardinals (4-4) placed four scorers in double figures, led by Francis Kiapway with 14, but managed only 10 points as a team over the final 14:30.
Darell Combs led IUPUI (3-5) with 21 points, while Matt O'Leary scored 20 on 9-of-12 shooting.
"I thought IUPUI played a really good game," Ball State coach James Whitford said. "I was disappointed that down the stretch they were the harder-playing, more competitive team. The reality is we're not playing that well right now."
Ball State led 36-29 at the half despite hitting just 2 of 8 free throws and playing for a while without Franko House, who was plagued by foul trouble. Sean Sellers scored 10 first-half points, and the Cardinals shot 48 percent as a team.
The shooting percentage and the lead swelled in the opening minutes of the second half. The Cardinals built their biggest lead at 50-39 on a Trey Moses putback, but Whitford could feel things were headed in the wrong direction.
"We came out in the second half, and I called two timeouts in the first six minutes," Whitford said. "We weren't the same team as we were in the first half, for whatever reason. We were just trading baskets. We hit some tough shots early, but I could sense our defense wasn't very good."
IUPUI began to chip away at the lead, using an 11-1 run to pull within one near the 10-minute mark. The Jaguars then grabbed their first lead of the second half on a 3-pointer from Combs with 7:16 to play and took the lead for good at 59-58 with 5:24 left.
Ball State could not rally, making only two baskets in the final six minutes as the Jaguars stretched out their lead. It was IUPUI shooting 48 percent in the second half and out-scoring the Cardinals 20-10 in the paint.
"Defensively, in the second half, I thought we fell apart," Whitford said. "As they started to make a run, some of our breakdowns on defense there were no excuse for. It's a long season, and we have plenty of time, but we have some warts we have to correct. This is a really critical month for us to get better."
Moses recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Sellers and Tayler Persons both finished with 12 points.
Ball State will return to action Tuesday, hosting Bradley at 7 p.m.
The Cardinals (4-4) placed four scorers in double figures, led by Francis Kiapway with 14, but managed only 10 points as a team over the final 14:30.
Darell Combs led IUPUI (3-5) with 21 points, while Matt O'Leary scored 20 on 9-of-12 shooting.
"I thought IUPUI played a really good game," Ball State coach James Whitford said. "I was disappointed that down the stretch they were the harder-playing, more competitive team. The reality is we're not playing that well right now."
Ball State led 36-29 at the half despite hitting just 2 of 8 free throws and playing for a while without Franko House, who was plagued by foul trouble. Sean Sellers scored 10 first-half points, and the Cardinals shot 48 percent as a team.
The shooting percentage and the lead swelled in the opening minutes of the second half. The Cardinals built their biggest lead at 50-39 on a Trey Moses putback, but Whitford could feel things were headed in the wrong direction.
"We came out in the second half, and I called two timeouts in the first six minutes," Whitford said. "We weren't the same team as we were in the first half, for whatever reason. We were just trading baskets. We hit some tough shots early, but I could sense our defense wasn't very good."
IUPUI began to chip away at the lead, using an 11-1 run to pull within one near the 10-minute mark. The Jaguars then grabbed their first lead of the second half on a 3-pointer from Combs with 7:16 to play and took the lead for good at 59-58 with 5:24 left.
Ball State could not rally, making only two baskets in the final six minutes as the Jaguars stretched out their lead. It was IUPUI shooting 48 percent in the second half and out-scoring the Cardinals 20-10 in the paint.
"Defensively, in the second half, I thought we fell apart," Whitford said. "As they started to make a run, some of our breakdowns on defense there were no excuse for. It's a long season, and we have plenty of time, but we have some warts we have to correct. This is a really critical month for us to get better."
Moses recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Sellers and Tayler Persons both finished with 12 points.
Ball State will return to action Tuesday, hosting Bradley at 7 p.m.
Team Stats
IUPUI
BSU
FG%
.446
.403
3FG%
.300
.310
FT%
.680
.300
RB
38
38
TO
11
14
STL
8
1
Game Leaders
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's BasketballMen's Basketball // Post Game Press Conference at Toledo
Saturday, January 31
This Week in Ball State Sports Podcast // Jeff Mitchell and Michael Lewis
Thursday, January 29
Men's Basketball // 1985-86 MAC Title team: Interviews: D. Eha, D. Wesley, D. Palombizio, C. Shelton
Wednesday, January 28
Men's Basketball // Victory Recap Video vs. NIU
Tuesday, January 27