Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
8-517-9; MAC
Miami (OH)
3-109-17; MAC
Men's Hoops Beats Miami, Grabs Sole MAC West Lead
February 16, 2016 | Men's Basketball
OXFORD, Ohio -- The Ball State men's basketball team went to Franko House early and often in the second half Tuesday to pull away for a 73-56 victory at Miami.
The junior post player scored 17 of his game-high 19 points after halftime, including a 13-for-13 effort at the foul line. The Cardinals' second win of the season over Miami, coupled with a Toledo loss at Central Michigan, moved Ball State (17-9, 8-5 MAC) into sole possession of first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division.
"Miami wasn't letting us pass the ball around the perimeter," Ball State coach James Whitford said. "We needed a couple guys who could take people off the bounce, and Franko really answered the bell. In the second half, we just tried to go to him every single time we could."
Jeremie Tyler carried the first-half load with 12 of his 14 points before the break, while Bo Calhoun posted his third straight double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Ball State broke open a tight game with an 11-1 run that spanned the first and second halves. Calhoun hit a corner 3-pointer less than two minutes into the second half to give the Cardinals a 40-29 lead. Miami (9-17, 3-10 MAC) never pulled closer than seven points the rest of the way, and Ball State stretched its lead to as many as 22.
"I thought it was really unselfish, focused and purposeful basketball," Whitford said. "We've been trying to put two of these in a row together, and now we have. Now the challenge is for us to put a third one together on Friday."
Ball State shot 47.9 percent from the floor (52.6 percent in the second half) and 41.2 percent from 3-point range. It was a far cry from last month's meeting when the Cardinals overcame their worst shooting performance of the season to squeak out a 48-46 win.
All nine Cardinals who played in the game scored. Naiel Smith (eight pints) and Sean Sellers (seven) provided some scoring punch off the bench, and Trey Moses led the team with a career-high six assists. He threw several nice backdoor passes to set teammates up at the rim.
"We rode Franko's back a little bit, but it was efforts from everyone across the board," Whitford said. "Trey Moses did a great job, Naiel had maybe his best game for us, Jeremie did a really good job.
"Sean Sellers is playing, to me, the best basketball since he's been in a Ball State uniform. We're putting him at the two, and he's guarding guys like Geovonnie McKnight tonight and Braylon Rayson at Central Michigan. He's answered the bell back-to-back games on the defensive side of the ball."
Miami shot only 36.5 percent from the floor and made just 3 of 17 attempts from 3-point range. Eric Washington led the RedHawks with 19 points, and McKnight had 17.
Ball State won its third straight road game and improved to 5-2 away from home in conference play. The Cardinals have the most league road wins of any team in the MAC and the most league road wins by a Ball State team since 2000-01.
The Cardinals will now return home to host Northern Illinois at 6:30 p.m. Friday for a #MuncieOut at Worthen Arena. Tickets for the game are $6 for general admission and $10 for reserved seats. Parking is free, and there are concessions specials, including $1 hot dogs. The game will be televised by the CBS Sports Network.
